The Moth

EPILOGUE// Those Who Believe In Magic

 EPILOGUE// Those Who Believe In Magic

It was spring again. Fourth. Fifth. Sixth since she left. I'd lost count.

I found a moth fluttering against my window and I lifted the glass, watching it fly outside.

Mrs. Jenkins standing by her daughter's window popped into my head. I set my jaw, letting it run its course.

"Some people never do come home."

I shut my eyes, breathing deeply. I almost wished she'd stay away. It'd been so long I was used to the numbness.

What do you do if you can't save someone?

You love them and you let them go.

Pulling on a new shirt, I grabbed my keys and headed for the door. I was out of milk and the walk would help clear my head.

Sometimes your feet overtake your mind and you end up exactly where you didn't want to be.

I found myself standing in front of her old house. My house back when I was still in college. Her home before that. A family with two kids lived there now, clueless to all the pain those walls held.

I wondered if they'd found the shoebox.

I wondered what they did with it.

No use wondering. I slid my hands into my pockets as a young boy ran out of the house. He stared at me from under his dark hair, deep eyes boring into mine. Couldn't have been more than ten or eleven. He turned away only when a smaller girl tugged at his sleeve and ran away.

I turned to go.

"My necklace!"

I slowed down and turned back around as something shiny hit the concrete by my feet. I picked it up, my heart stopping.

Her necklace.

"Aye, mister. That's my sisters." The boy held out his hand to me and I smiled at him, dropping the silver chain and heart in his outstretched hand.

"Be careful with it. It's important to her, isn't it?"

He simply watched me. The girl called out her thanks. I waved at her and kept walking.

I never did buy the milk.

Two hours later and I was standing in the middle of the park at sundown. I tugged a hand through my hair, watching the sky light up. She'd been on my mind again. Even a year after I talked to that girl in the middle of the night. Right here.

"I don't know what 'I love you' means..." I murmured.

I heard her laugh before I saw her. Her voice floated up from behind me.

"I think it means 'don't leave me here alone.'"

I turned and found my home in her eyes, a gentle smile playing on her lips.

"I told you I'd return, didn't I?"

Do you believe in magic?

Yes.

Sometimes, people do come home.

FIN

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A/N: ....*holds breath* Um...so, what did you think of the ending? ;-;  I know that wasn't quite the ending you were expecting, but how'd you feel about it? 

Honestly I'm actually nervous about your responses. XD This is probably my first time (besides Trust Falls) where I've had a kind of happy-ish ending. Did I pull it off? What did you think? I'd love to know your thoughts, about this chapter and the book as a whole! <3

If there's any lasting questions you want answered, now is the time!  

This book was made as a study in heartbreak, and the strange way how one person's world could be falling apart while it's still sunny outside and the world gives no indication of ever feeling your pain. This book was made to show how even complete strangers can have an affect on your life, in the smallest ways. No one really thinks too much about the stories they're told in school of some kid who made a fatal mistake. Because it's a mistake we think we'll never make ourselves, right?  I tried to bring attention to how even those kids...they were people too. With dreams and hopes and futures, before they became a cautionary tale for strangers. 

This chapter is dedicated to demonicdragon09 . I hope I didn't completely let you down with the happy ending you wanted. XD As always, I love ya and all yer comments! <3 

-Autumn