The Innocents

Epilogue

Miles bought me an ancient typewriter that required ink and the paper to be fed through and it made the most amazing sound with every key stroke.

I couldn't use it at night which was all right. I'm getting better at sleeping. I'm getting better at a lot of things.

We live in a small cottage tucked away in the countryside of Provence like hermits and loving every second of it. I became a gardener of sorts or at least I attempted to. Miles had to remind me to water them and trim the hedges, kill the weeds, excreta so I guess I still have a lot to work on. We had chickens now, which was fun and one cow that I named Gladys. There was also a dog that we'd acquired upon our arrival here. He was a stray, but he came with the house so in a way, this big, black lab was its owner if you want to get technical.

Miles and I became a family. We still both agreed to not have children so that just left us and we were perfectly fine with that. I'd wonder sometimes if he would have been a good dad. The kind that braided his daughter's hair or put on capes to imitate superheroes with his son. I'm sure that he wonders too ,and we ever changed our minds, I'd give it a shot, but for now, there's a war and it's no time to bring a child into the world.

The war did keep going on, but we tried not to dwell. I know what you might think, they're ignoring the inevitable, but you know what? We're all right with that because we deserve a life of peace as you all do. The only problem is trying to be normal when the rest of the world has gone stark raving mad. Well, it takes courage, being normal I mean and if you've ever tried and succeeded, I'd call you a liar right off of the bat.

So we wasted our days together, which wasn't really wasteful, but more fulfilling than anything I'd ever done in my life. Everything was new and gone were the days of being afraid. We know full well that nothing stays this way, but for now we're content living like tomorrow will be better than the day before because in, in our world, it was.

I will never forget those girls. Jo, Fidola, Marla, Lena and even the ones who weren't so nice like Gladey. I remember Victoria, who had too little time in this world and who could have been something incredible if she had hung on just a little longer. I remember the moments, the good ones like my visits from dad and R&J and I remember the bad ones because those were important too. Sure, sometimes I get sad and sometimes I feel regretful, and some nights I even wake up to the sounds of my own heavy breathing. It would be something simple like Miles kissing my neck, but it was enough to bring everything back. It was like watching television and changing the channels and no matter how many channels you change it to, that one channel that you don't want to watch is still the one it goes to when you hit the last button. Sometimes I'd have to be on my own and sometimes I'd let him comfort me.

I know there are still people fighting. People like Marla who want to save the human race and those who see potential in securing their future. I have a more pessimistic attitude toward the entire thing. Maybe someday I will change my mind and fight like humans are supposed to. After-all, we are selfish. We are cruel. We are loved. We are hated. We are the enemy and we are the saviors. We are human to a fault. We are all innocent at one point in our lives and at every point.