Flower Boy

Epilogue

Serena, Kyle, Ami and Lucas walked into Hoosier High, numb hearted. Even though a few weeks had passed since Donavan had been killed, it still hit them hard to think about how they lost him. They went to their respective lockers, mentally preparing themselves for the day. They promised to go everywhere together, and the councilors had helped arrange for them to be in the same classes. Each opened their lockers and saw a note, neatly creased and they saw the familiar slanted handwriting on the front. They read quickly through it and rushed to each other, sitting down in the hallway. Serena opened the letter with shaking hands. It read;

To my closest friends,

It has been such a pleasure to know you. You are so bright and warm, so kind and joyful. You helped make my miserable life bearable, but you know, I'm a human. We humans are like the machines we create. There's only so much pressure until we break, and through all the pressure I've endured, this is my breaking point. This is where I snap.

Believe me when I say that he was my first and only love. He knew how to make me happy, how to lift my spirits, he knew what I was thinking, he knew how I felt, and I him. It was no longer just his life or just my life. It was our life. He never deserved to die. Even before I wrote this for you all, I knew that when he had died, I had died along with him. This is not a matter of hating society or hating the world or something like that. It's just a matter of wanting to stay with my love. Please understand that though I love you all, I must see him again, and I'd rather sooner than later. I will watch you from above, I'll smile and laugh with you, alongside Donavan. I wish you all happiness and please, please, do not grieve too hard. Grief will kill you, so please, stay together. I love you all, and I will miss being next to you.

With love,

Rosalena

The four friends sat there for quite a while, Serena placing a hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her sobs. Lucas reached over and wrapped his arms around her, trying to soothe her as his tears fell. Ami wiped away tears from her eyes, a small sad smile on her face. Tears spilled from Kyle's eyes and he hugged the others close. They collapsed into a sobbing mess of limbs, holding onto one another for strength. They stuck together the rest of the day, smiling through their tears, grieving their friends together, and being happy that their two friends were together...

James Gentes had gone home after a long day at the cemetery, sighing as he pushed open the door. A slip of paper fluttered to the ground inside and he picked it up, expecting an advertisement on the other side. His eyes widened as he recognized the handwriting. He rushed to the table to sit and unfolded the letter as fast as possible. The paper read;

Dear James,

Thank you for your amazing hospitality. It was a pleasure for me to know you. You're quite the great cook and you're very funny. But I'm not just writing to compliment you, though I could go on and on about how glorious you are. I know that you are grieving Donavan's death greatly, as I am. I hope you soon find a way to cope with it. I know there's a strong bond between father and son. Though he was your child, you understand there is no getting him back and you accept it. I admire you for that. My bond with Donavan was also very strong in many ways. We picked each other up when we fell, we helped each other out of situations, we loved each other, no matter how young we were.

This is the reason I implore you to understand that I had to be with him. I would like us to stay together forever. We will be watching you from above, smiling down on you collectively. We will send you our love and welcome you to us with open arms when it is your time. Neither of us will be alone.

You were an amazing dad

With love,

Rosalena

James sagged into the chair, sighing. Another one of his children lost their life... No... Perhaps not truly. She seemed to have lost her life when Donavan lost his. Perhaps now she would be happy again, laughing and loving with Donavan. James smiled sadly to himself, a single tear streaking down his face.

"You were an amazing daughter." He whispered. He would look forward to the day when he would join the children... But he would wait until it was his time to

Malcolm Mechant was released from prison to go home for some reason unknown to himself. He shrugged, instead of questioning it, he thanked God for allowing him to go home. Opening the door, he looked around inside. Nothing seemed out of place, and he sighed, going to the couch. He reached onto the desk beside the couch for the remote when he felt a piece of paper. He sat up, looking at the neat little rectangle. He unfolded it and his eyes widened as he began to read;

Dear Father,

Remember me? Of course you do, I was your only child, Rosalena. There's so much I want to say. Honestly when you were taken, I was quite happy you were gone. Then I went to live with Donavan, and something felt off. Something was missing. And I realized, after some time, that the thing missing was you. Yes, despite all the abuse and what I thought was hate, I missed you. I've realized, you must've been lonely without Mom. I miss her too.

I wrote this to tell you, I'll be taking my leave now. The love of your life left you, and you want to be with her. The love of my life, which you will never really know, he has left me. You must understand how I want to be with him. The only way for me to see him again is this.

I hope you find mom and tell her. I couldn't find her, so I would like you to tell her/ I'd also like you to tell her that I hope you two help each other through this. It's not every day you lose your child. Please don't grieve too much. I'd feel guilty if you did. I want you and mom to be happy together. Please tell mom that I love her.

I love you, daddy.

I'll be waiting to introduce you to Donavan,

Love from,

Rosalena

Teardrops splattered onto the note, smudging the precious last words of his daughter. He reread those words over and over: "I love you, daddy." He held the note to his chest, tears streaming rapidly down his cheeks. He sobbed, not caring who heard. He howled, feeling as if a hole were being torn in his chest. He cried gripping the piece of paper as if it were his only lifeline.

His little girl was gone forever, along with the love of his life. No. His love was not gone. He would not make the same mistake again. He wiped his eyes, sniffling as he dialed a number into the phone. It rang four times before someone picked it up.

"Hello?" The voice asked. He took a deep breath. He would not make the same mistake again.

"It's about Rosalena." He answered.

"What about her?"

"She's gone.

"Gone? But..."

"Come back. Please? I-I'm sorry," he began to cry again, tears spilling out of his eyes.

"I-I can't do this on my own. I... I still love you. I always have. I'm so sorry." He said quietly, sniffling. The other end went silent and he cried putting the phone down. A few hours later there was a knock on the door. Malcolm heaved himself up and opened the door. There stood the love of his life, dressed in ripped jeans, a blue t-shirt, and tears, tears everywhere. He stared at her gently, and she looked so fragile. One glance and she knew that the man she knew was gone, and this was a new man. He held out his arms and she fell towards him. He wrapped his arms around her.

"Laila." He whispered and she nodded, sniffing.

"I'm back." She said.

"Thank you. I love you." He whispered

"I love you too." She whispered back, and they felt the sun finally come out after that rainy day. They looked to the sky and watched as their daughter smiled down on them through the colors of a rainbow.

The End