Crumpled

Epilogue / Acknowledgements

"Sarah, are you ready?" I called out.

"I'm almost done. Coming!" She called from inside our house.

I was waiting in Mom's car with my hands on the steering wheel. I had obtained my driving license a few weeks back and so these days, I was the one who would usually do the driving whenever I would go out with Mom and Sarah. Plus, it was a huge advantage for me for I no longer needed to rely on Mom, if she was busy, to go out. Life was really indeed busy for me, nowadays.

I was now the Ambassador for Anti-Bullying for the Social-Spark Campaign and because of this I had to go and visit places, at times, to give short speeches and create awareness about bullying and how dangerous it can be. Moreover, I had published a short auto-biography of myself, titled 'From the Ashes' in aid of the campaign, through which I shared the challenges I had to endure from the start of my high-school life. It became a huge success and so, nowadays, I had to often go for interviews.

Being a celebrity, after all, has its own advantages for my name had helped me to reach out to the public in a more effective way.

Sarah was starting high-school today. I was in the 11th grade now though my classes had not yet started so I was free for the time-being, much to Sarah's jealousy.

I heard footsteps approaching and saw her coming down the doorsteps, a blue bag slung over her shoulder with her blond curls dancing behind her. Opening the door of the car, she got in and sat beside me, exhaling deeply.

"Ready?" I asked, smiling, my right hand on the gear.

"Yeah." she replied.

"Packed all your books?" I asked, smirking.

"Yeah, yeah, Pussy Preacher." she replied, smiling teasingly at me

"In that case, let's go." I said, starting the car.

Soon, we were on our way to the school. When I first drove the car, I was tensed if I might go and hit somewhere but luckily, it seemed that driving a car was not really a Herculean task. I glanced at Sarah. Even though she would always remain relaxed and cheery every time, today, she looked really tensed and nervous.

"You alright?" I asked, smiling.

"Yeah. Yeah I am." she said, trying to smile.

Soon, we reached the place. I drove to the open ground which was the parking lot and parked it at a spot. Unbuckling my seat-belt, I got out and saw that Sarah was only going to unbuckle hers, very slowly. As she got out, I saw that her faced now looked really tensed and doubtful.

"Sarah, are you alright?" I asked.

Exhaling a bit, she turned to me and asked like a small child, "How's high-school like?"

I was so amused by the question that I almost laughed when I was reminded of my own high-school experiences. Pulling a straight face and smiling at her, I replied, "Oh, it's fine. You're in for the greatest time of your life."

Sarah just stared at me.

"I mean, it won't be so enjoyable as you think because for one thing, you will have a lot to study and so, you will be pressurized but that's okay. Just don't take any notice of it." I replied, hastily.

Still looking a bit doubtful, she asked me, "How was high-school for you?"

Old memories came back to my mind. Bullying, falling grades, almost losing a valuable friend...early high-school was indeed tough for me. "Well, I was peer-pressurized, bullied....and the rest, you know so I guess I don't have to tell you, right?"

Sarah just nodded.

I walked towards her and putting my hand on her shoulder, I continued, "High-school isn't really such a big deal. If you just stay onto the right track and make sure you chose the right friends and do the right things-and by right things, I don't mean that you should be pious and saintly or something (to which, Sarah laughed)-you won't land yourself in trouble. You might still face some problems like falling grades or other emotional stuff but it's alright if you stand your ground."

"Alright, Pussy Preacher." she said, punching my arm, "That helped a lot." and she smiled.

Just then, the echoes of the school-bell ringing reverberated through the air. We hugged each other and then as we broke apart, I said, "Good luck."

"Yeah, thanks." she said and then sprinted off to the school entrance, her hair dancing behind her as usual.

I smiled, seeing her sprint and then sighed. Finally, my younger sister was also starting high-school and entering a life which was filled with more challenges. But then, I know that Sarah will not have to suffer as I did; she was a different person altogether- Thick-skinned, hard and had the knack to bring people down to earth with her sarcastic and blunt words.

But then, there is no guarantee for two years back, as I entered into the first day of my high-school life, I had taken the resolution that I will achieve excellent grades and remain strong and yet, I failed to achieve it by breaking off at times but then, luckily, I managed to get my gear on, just in time.

But even then, she will be only one of the few people who might sail through high-school without much difficulty. For all I know, around the world, there might be millions of people who might be suffering like I did-getting kicked into dark corners, cutting themselves and finally, making their hands move to those bottles of pills or razors that will end their life.

There are still more crumpled souls out there.

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Hey guys!

So, this is it. With this, we have finally reached the conclusion of 'Crumpled'. This is the end of the story (No, there is no sequel). However, before I wind up this story, I would like to thank a few people who have stuck to it from the beginning to the end.

I would like to immensely thank, with all my heart, my family for supporting me immensely. This book wouldn't be here if it weren't for them.

I would like to thank all of my friends too. The orders are just random.

@Jennoula2009, @ilovefingerprints, @metalhandedness62, @XiaoLuLuu, @jesusmybae, @Beck717, @_seras, @Patata-Banana_Me, @BeStillWildAndYoung. @Kauser29, @flukers, @bookaddicted5, @SheiiLao, @AlaskaYoungFox

A few of my school friends have also checked out my story and I just can't express how much their support means to me- @seanjohnkurian and @AjuAjus. Thank you guys! Thank you so much!

I also have some silent readers and even though they might have not commented, their votes still mean so much to me and I can't express how much thankful I am to them. They are- @lubice and @chasingchace99

But even in the midst of all this, I still have a lot of other silent readers and even though they might have not made themselves known, I would still like to thank for supporting my story. Thank you guys! Your support means so much to me.

So once again, THANK YOU, EVERYONE! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Jude :D