Too Far Away (Keaton Stromberg Love Story)

Epilogue

Epilogue; Dedicated to thefunkyjellybeanmachine.tumblr.com (PLEASE READ THE AUTHOR'S NOTE!!!!)

The story had started with a simple loss, and the story had ended with a simple loss. Both of which had been incredibly painful for me, but both of which I had survived.

This time, though, my story was coming to an end. It was in sight, but to me, it was still much too far away.

The story started with a simple question. Mine had begun with a, "Who are you?" But hers, hers was a, "Who am I?"

"Gran, who am I?" Jess asked me, and in my old age, I didn't quite understand her question.

"What do you mean, Jess?" I eyed her like she was insane, and I knew it wasn't fair for me to glare at my granddaughter in such a way, but I had always been strangely against the norm.

"I mean... Where do I derive from? Like... What's your story? What's the most monumental thing that’s ever happened to you? Besides my birth, of course." The girl had her grandmother's wits, what can I say.

"You want to know my story? I thought shit like this only happened in books." I raised an eyebrow, and she laughed.

"I'm curious." She whispered, "Grandpa Keaton died when I was too young to understand. I want to know what he was like." Jess told me, and I took a shaky breath.

I took a shaky breath and I told her the story. I told her everything from the ski lift to the remembering. I told her the story you just read. I was aware of the fact that bits and pieces were missing from the story of the moon and the sun and the stars and the things that were altogether just too far away, but she listened as though I were the greatest orator in the whole wide world.

She listened with such enthusiasm you would have thought she'd only heard for the first time earlier that day. Her expressions were comical, especially with her gorgeous eyes that gleamed as brilliant memorials to the persons I orated of.

And when I finished she stared at me with those beautiful eyes of hers. They were shiny with her unshed tears, and she just pulled me into her petite body.

I had learned quite a lot since regaining my memory, but the one thing that I could never ever forget that I had learned about and studied excessively was Keaton. I had learned every inch and crevice of Keaton, and he had done the same with me, and when he died, a part of me died with him.

His death had been of natural causes. We were both ridiculously old, and I only got more so without him. Hence why my ending was too far away. Tomorrow was too far away without Keaton, and tomorrow had been too far away for almost six years now.

Six years I had lived without him, and I wasn't sure how much longer I could continue my streak of strength without snapping.

My only support throughout the entire thing had been our kids, our grand kids, and our families in general.

I missed him endlessly, but I had dealt with it for the sake of everyone around me, but now, now that the story was out in the open and I had shared my tiny slice of intellectual advice with my only granddaughter, I had no purpose, and I would believe that no matter who tried to change my mind.

My life had been an adventure. A roller coaster ride of emotions and beauty, and here I was at eighty-nine, recalling these emotions and beautiful times.

I felt young for a few seconds. For moments, I felt as though I was reliving those events.

Jess eyed me then, her gaze observational.

"Gran?" She questioned, and I nodded.

"Do you think there's an afterlife of some sort? Like maybe Aunt Brooke and Grandpa Keaton are... together?" She whispered, and I nearly cried at the thought of my sun and my starts being reunited in an alternate universe both you and I have yet to see.