Norah & Daniel

Epilogue

"I always thought that my light brown color looked better than your blonde," Emma says, twisting a strand of her hair around her pointer finger.

"Of course you did." I roll my eyes.

I pull out a blade of grass from the ground.

"You were better than me at everything," I mumble as I tear the blade into bits.

The green land stretches till beyond my eyes can see, running past the horizon.

A soft breeze blows past us, stroking my hair lightly.

"Have I told you lately how happy I am that we found a way to talk to each other again?" she says, lying on the ground and looking up at me with those big smiley eyes of her.

"Not the most real way though," I mumble, again.

I always mumble a lot while talking to her. I used to do it earlier too. It went unknown to me why I lost my solidity when it came to her.

Superior in life. Superior in death.

"As long as I get to see you, it doesn't matter." She tilts her head to her side, smiling.

I simply nod.

"So tell me, twin sister. What's new?" Emma asks.

I raise an eyebrow at her. "What am I? Messenger from camp earth?"

"If that's what you would like to be called." She smiles.

I roll my eyes. "Things are alright, as much as they can be."

A pondering expression spreads on her face, slowly reaching her eyes. Our eyes were different. Hers used to be much more expressive than mine, like she could tell you a long story with them, without uttering a word.

A moment of thinking later, she says, "I miss home."

"Everyone misses you too."

"I know. I told you I can see everyone, remember?" She sits up again.

"Yeah, like you were never gone," I say, and my eyes drop to my lap. "Only if things can be so simple for us too."

A brief silent moment ticks by.

"I am so sorry. I put everyone through hell, especially you. I have hurt you the most." What I hear is genuine remorse.

I shake my head, frowning. "No, it's not especially me. Mom and dad, they went through a lot, and Grandma, Grandpa, Nathan, they-"

She cuts me mid-rant. "I know. I am responsible for all the crap everyone had to go through, but don't deny it like you don't know it yourself that it has been the worst for you."

I silently stare at her, waiting for her to continue.

"For starters, I robbed you of the ignorance for those few minutes that the others had, right from the moment you got that call. You don't know how the sky looked at that moment, or how the roads looked then, or if the car radio was on, but in a way you were there. By calling you, I brought you along with me. I made you watch as I succumbed to my fears. I am sorry that you had to be with me as I was dying."

My eyes don't waver from hers. I opt not to say anything and let her talk. Instead she brings up her hand, and placed it on my heart.

With sheer innocence, she asks, "Does it still hurt here?"

"It never stops," I answer, my voice heavy. "It never will."

"It will, I promise." A small smile appears on her features as her hand drops. "Every day, a little part, and I can promise of only a really tiny part, will stop hurting. A really small piece of you every day. And years from now, you'll wake up and as you make your way through that day, a thought of me will randomly cross your mind, and I promise you that you will realize that it hurts a little less than it does now. Because that's the thing about pain, it will fade away eventually. Slowly, but eventually. Look how the ache is a smidge less than when I left you."