Elisabeth

Epilogue

Fall of 2017

'Will you manage?' Will asked, letting her hand go when they reached the fence.

'Yeah. Don't worry, I can handle this.' Elisa said. She opened the elegant black gate and slipped through the opening. 'It won't take long.' She assured Will before turning away.

'Take your time.' Will said, leaning against the fence.

Elisa's eyes scanned the graveyard, lingering on every stone. Mary, Johanna, Lily, John, Francesca, Harry, Taylor. She stopped, her eyes fixed on the next stone. Vivian. Vivian Green, wife of George Green. Born on the 12th of February 1968, died on the 17th of November 2012.

'Hey mom.' Elisa whispered, dropping to her knees. Her hands touched the cold surface of the grey stone. She put a rose in the empty vase on the edge of her grave.

'It's been a long time. Too long. Way too long. You must have heard Christine pushed me off that ship, and that I spend nine years on a desert island in the Atlantic Ocean. I hope dad told you. Just so you know your daughter is back.'

Elisa bit her lip, holding back her tears. Her mother shared a special relationship with her. Elisa and Vivian were not just family. They were more.

Sometimes, when Elisa couldn't take it anymore on the island, she wished they didn't share something special. She wished for her mother to be able to forget her, to live on without her. It would've made her mother's life so much easier. Or if she had died in that storm. It would have given her mother a reason to move on.

But her mother knew Elisa was alive. Just like Elisa knew her mother was alive. Which must've been killing her mother inside. Knowing your daughter is alive somewhere, but unreachable. Maybe dying of hunger or pain, or drowning in the depts of the ocean. Knowing every day could be her daughter's last.

Though Elisa's heart could eventually persuade her mind that she would come back. One day. That it was worth trying. That it was worth living every day with a smile. Which was one of the reasons she was sitting here.

'I haven't talked to Christine ever since the night she admitted she pushed me. I haven't seen Beau either. I worked hard and managed to do my Senior Year together with Will and Michelle. Will and I went to university in America, we graduated in April. I'm sorry I haven't visited you earlier, I really am. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I couldn't sit next to your dead body under a layer of sand. It just didn't feel right. But now it does. I know I can't get you back. I thought you would be gone for ever, that I would never see your pretty face again. I thought everything was over. But it isn't. It took me a while to realize it, but you're not gone. You'll always be right here.' Elisa paused and put her hand on her chest. 'In my heart. You'll never really go away, because your memory lives forth. Not just in my heart, in all hearts that loved you. You will always be with me, mom. You never left me, and you will never leave me.' Elisa's fingers brushed over the smooth surface of her mother's grave. 'Will and I got married last week. I wish you could have seen it. I love him mom. You would have loved him too. Maybe you have even met him, because dad has. And...' Elisa looked cautiously to her left and right. No one was there. 'I'm pregnant. I figured you should be the first one to know after Will. No one knows. Not dad, not Michelle, not his parents. And I'm telling you first, because that's what I would've done if you still lived. Every person would think I'm crazy; travelling to the other side of the country just to tell my dead mother I'm pregnant. But I don't think it is. Because I know you can hear me. Somewhere, you are listening to me. Smiling as I talk about Will, biting your lip as I cry over you. I don't think it is true. I know it is true. I hope you will be proud of your first grandchild. I hope you are proud of your daughter. I hope you will be proud of yourself, because you are the best mother I could have had.'

Elisa stood up pressed her hand to her lips and blew the kiss upwards to heaven.

'I love you mom.' She walked back to the gate, slipping trough. She looked back at her mother's grave. 'Shall we go?'

'Would you mind... if I talked to her for a few seconds?' Will asked. Elisa frowned. Why would he want to talk to her?

'Did you know her?' Elisa questioned, looking curiously at Will.

'A bit.' He said with a shrug. Never had they really discussed her mom, but he knew she had gotten more comfortable about her in the past month. Like she finally accepted it. Will knew she thought about her mother every night, every time she saw or thought of the moon, every time she lie down in her bed. But for some reason she didn't cry anymore. She did exactly the opposite. Elisa smiled.

'Alright, go talk to her.' Elisa didn't see why not, and she was glad Will cared about her mother. Will walked in and she saw him sitting down in front of her mother's grave. If only she could hear what he was saying.

Will scratched his head. He knew what he wanted to say, just not in which order.

'Hello, mrs. Green.' Smooth start Will, he told himself.

'I just wanted to let you know that I really love your daughter. She is everything to me. I know you think I use girls, and you're right. I did. But not anymore. Because, you see mrs. Green, I fell in love. There was this beautiful girl. Always smiling, shining and warming every heart along the way. I fell in love with her. She is sweet, beautiful, smart, caring and persistent. I fell in love with your daughter, mrs. Green. You raised a beautiful child. I hope you are proud of her, because she has something no one else has. She never gives up. Which is why she is still alive. Which is why she is here. And I am proud of her, because she taught me things no one else could teach me. You should be proud of her too, because she is like a diamond in a pile of stones. Unique, pretty, sparkling and unpenetrable. Worth a million bucks. The only difference is that she is not rare. She's one of a kind.'

He swallowed audible.

'I know I never really asked you for her hand, but I asked mr. Green. I hope you are okay with me being her husband. I wish you could see our child when it is born. I think you would make a lovely grandmother. Just like you made a perfect mother. I will try my best to raise the baby, to become just as amazing as Elisa.'

Will looked at the engraved letters on the gravestone.

'I just wanted to let you know that Elisa didn't make a mistake by marrying me. She is the most precious thing I have and I will never give up on her. I will do anything to make her happy.'

Will stood up, whispering the last words.

'I love her more than anything.'

He walked back, hugging Elisa before opening the door of the car for her.

The whole trip to the hotel was silent. Comfortable, but silent. They weren't angry. No words needed to be said, and Will wanted to give Elisa some time to think. They ate something in the hotel and went to bed when it got dark outside. It was a bit early, but Elisa was tired and they didn't have anything to do.

'Elisa?' Will lie down next to her in the bed and wrapped his arms around her.

'Hmm?' She turned around, returning the gesture by putting her hands on his back.

'Why are you smiling?' He asked, his hands playing with her curls.

'I remember the good times I had with my mom, and know that she can finally stop worrying about me.' He watched Elisa's lips talking, looking at her eyes when she finished.

'What happened? Why is it just now that she can stop worrying?'

'Because it's just now that I'm home. I realized home is not a place I should be looking for. I'm home with you, Will. I am pregnant. We are a family now. That is home to me. You are home.' She kissed him lightly, holding him close. 'We are home.'

Will thought about it.

Fusing the companies, introducing new dishes with the fruit from the island.

Marrying Elisa with a small party afterwards and a short honeymoon in France.

And finally the baby, that would unite them as a real family.

She was right.

He repeated her words, carressing her hair.

'We are home.'