Yours, Eternally(2015 Revision)

Epilogue

It had been nearly a month since the hospital fiasco, and things settled down a great deal. My brother and sister came down every weekend to stay with me and Tyler was even dating Sarah steady. The three of us shared an even closer bond than before, especially when they knew they could have lost me. I stayed at the hospital for two days to recover. I had just barely needed stitches and suffered from exhaustion, but otherwise, I had a clean bill of health.. When I released, I had to speak with the police and give an official statement and deal with some legal issues, which weren't as bad as I'd expected.

Matt's car accident case was opened and officially declared murder because of my quick thinking to record Lydia's confession. Matt's mother was one of my many visitors once word traveled, thanks to news reports and newspapers. She thanked me repeatedly for for my courage and the love for her son that gave me that courage. I could never tell her the truth. Matt looked in on her often but stayed hidden in the shadows, careful not to reveal himself.

Matt came to me every night from his spirit world and it was if he was alive and well on Earth. This particular night, Matt laid with me in my bed, cradling me on his lap. He smoothed my hair and told me that he needed to stay away for a little bit to handle things on the other side. The interactions between the living and dead was a big deal there, and his world shouldn't have been so intertwined with the living world. Matt whispered he'd would be back soon, as I begged and cried for him not to leave me again.

“I have to, baby. You know I have to.” He lifted me off him and tenderly tucked me into bed, kissing my forehead and rubbing his nose to mine. He glanced at me one more time before his image dissipated into the darkness of the night. I rolled over on my side and lost myself in thought.

I always will feel the effects of his loss, but I found comfort in knowing that there is an afterlife and I will be with him. Ultimately, he was the epitome of everything I could have ever wanted in my own life, and though physically gone forever, he was still here; the dove soaring high, the brightest star in the sky, the wind that blew through my hair. 

I remembered back to the very beginning and now, what nagged at me about Matt's death had finally been solved. I've lived through love, loss, murder, things most people wouldn't believe. But I lived them. I traveled space and time and was able to connect to the other side. I could rest my head knowing these great tragedy of accomplishments.

My body relaxed, molding into the cushion of my mattress as my head hit my pillow. With visions of Matt as I closed my eyes, I fell into a deepest and probably one of the best bouts of sleep I've ever imagined. Matt’s arm were outstretched and was trying to talk to me but his lips were moving but I could not hear him nor read his lips. Subconsciously, I felt my breath shallow and the scene in my head changed and I was in a room with people, faces blurred. I could hear chatter in the distance, and I saw myself walking through the crowd of unrecognizable, smudged faces. The fragrance of flowers filled my lungs and through the smell, I could see a beautifully carved wooden casket with gold accents. I made my way over to it casket and knelt down to pay my respects to this unknown person, who's face was also unrecognizable.

Kylie's voice filled the room. “It was very unexpected. The last few weeks really took a toll.” Her words trailed off and I was unable to hear anymore.

Out of nowhere, a loud humming noise pierced my eardrums and I felt the room viciously shaking. I held my hand up to my ears, trying to block the sound penetrating my head. My face contorted in excruciating pain as I looked around and the people in the room were unfazed by the startling noise and the violent movement of the room.

I stood up from my kneeling position, holding tightly to the bars on the side of the coffin to keep my balance. I sharply turned in place to look for Kylie and Tyler. I needed answers.

The room began to slow down in movement and the humming paused, leaving the room in complete silence. A moment later, through the silence, I heard yet another familiar voice. “We loved her so much. She will never know.” Tyler spoke, seemingly picking up his conversation mid-sentence.

What kind of dream was this? Was it a dream at all? I became overwhelmed with panic and ran around the room, still covering my ears, scanning faces looking for Tyler or Kylie. I found them huddled together with Vicky in the right hand corner of the room with a couple of their close friends and Matt’s mom embracing them. I ran over and tried to pry through the group and I found an opening. I squeezed my way through and stood in front of Kylie and Tyler. They had their heads down on top of one another's shoulders, crying.

“Guys, what the hell is going on?”

I did not get a response.

“Hello-o. What the hell? Why aren’t you answering me?” I was getting frustrated, and waved my hands in front of them, trying to get them to look up, with no luck. I turned to walk away, ashamed of Tyler and Kylie for playing a horrible joke like this on me at a place such as this.

“It’s so cold in here all of a sudden.” I heard Kylie speak, teeth clattering.

I whipped my head around and walked back over and saw Tyler take off his suit jacket and place it over Kylie’s shoulder. “Better?” He asked.

“It’s not that kind of cold, Tyler.” She looked at him with wide eyes and he returned her glance.

I paused at her statement, knowing what she meant. She was not cold from the temperature. A blurry face approached Kylie and Tyler and hugged each one of them. “How did it happen? I thought everything was getting better?” Another voice spoke up.

“Her heart stopped in her sleep. The stress from the last several months must have caught up. We went to wake her up one morning and she was still and cold, wrapped in her blankets, with a smile on her face.” Kylie was being strong; a trait passed down from the women of our family. I was admiring her and Tyler’s strength when what felt like a tidal wave pulled me into the undertow, I knew who she was talking about. I about-faced back toward the casket that was now closed, however that happened, and threw myself at it, my hand scrambling to pry the top open. My fingers were becoming raw from trying to claw through the wood.

The latch gave and the top flew open, revealing what seems like hundreds photos covering the body in the box. Photos of my grandparents and Tyler, Kylie and I growing up. Lastly, I saw one more photo – the same photo of Matt and I that had been placed with his body. Freaked out, I shoveled the photos out with both hands, but they only kept accumulating. I began to scream, praying it would wake my physical state from this nightmare, but my shrieks went without acknowledgment.

Crying frantically, I began to lose my strength and broke down, sliding to my knees once more before the casket. I peered down into the bed of final rest and gasped in horror as I recognized who it was that lay there.

The face I looked into was my own.

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