Another End : Ib's Sacrifice

So far, they had come so far. They let Mary live, to suffer in herself. She didn't want Mary to die, but she didn't tell Garry that. Ib had something different with Mary; she loved her like a sister and Garry like a brother. Though she had decided to depart with Garry, she had an urge to go back to Mary and say a proper goodbye.

Ib stared at Garry, hope in her eyes as well as sadness. She looked at the painting before them titled "Real World."; did she really want to return at all?

Ib stared at the cut on Garry's hand, her handkerchief covered in his blood. She smiled sadly and watched Garry ponder on how to get back in the real world. "Do you have a clue how to return?" Ib heard Garry ask and Ib shook her head; the only thing she could do.

At the very moment she answered, a white flash went through the room. "Look, the frame is gone!" Ib exclaimed, a little surprised but a smile was quick to grace her lips. Garry smiled and pat her head, Ib felt tears begin to well in her eyes.

"Ib, we made it! So what's wrong?" Ib's lower-lip quivered as her tears fell down her cheek, she couldn't help it. She wanted to go with Garry but she wanted to bring Mary too. It was a dilemma and it only got worse when she heard a faint scream.

"Ib, Garry! Don't leave without me!" Ib span around, Garry narrowed his eyes and pulled Ib into a protective hug. Ib squirmed free and stood back as Mary span around the corner, running with tears stinging her eyes; Mary stopped beside Garry and scowled.

"You! If only you hadn't been such a busy-body! I could go with Ib and leave your miserable body behind!" Mary was raging, upset and angry at Garry. But Ib stopped, thought for a second about why Mary was not pinning any blame on her. After all, Ib was at fault as well. It wasn't only Garry's fault.

"Well, you aren't real! You fooled us from the start and now you are trying to replace me with yourself. I care for Ib more than myself, so I won't let you do anything to harm her or our chance of leaving!" Garry was fierce in his comeback, Mary kept shouting and so did Garry. But the words became inaudible to Ib, her mind went to thinking.

Ib looked down and began to cry, he tears fell by the heaps and went unheard by either Mary or Garry. She was so desperately torn, they both wanted to leave with her but only one could go.

"Ib, what are you doing?" Ib heard Garry's smooth voice ask in her moment of secluded thoughts. Ib hadn't noticed she had reached for her rose, but as she looked at it, she realized what she had to do. What she had to do to give them both what they wanted.

"'I'm sorry." Mary and Garry paused their fighting, watching her carefully like she was an explosive and one wrong move could blow them all up.

But Ib, well... she had never considered suicide as a real thing. No, what she was doing was not suicide, it was a sacrifice. It was a sacrifice, her life for theirs; it was the best she could do.

Ib gently touched the petals on her rose, only softly and smiled at them; her tears flowed more heavily down her cheeks than before. Ib reached down for the base of where the petals sat, took a deep breath and ripped all her petals from the stem.

The feeling was like no other, it was paralysing and painful but also somehow made her happy. She felt her heart already slowing which meant she hadn't much time to do this. It was something she wanted to do now; she didn't want to remember any of this. To just wilt away would suit her fine; especially because she was doing this for Mary and Garry.

"I... love you both..." Ib breathed the words and saw the terribly heartbroken expressions on their faces and prayed they would just forget her. Prayed they would hold her in their hearts, but not their minds. It was all she could do now, no going back.