Silent Pain

Epilogue

Mom bought a big chocolate cake for Allen's birthday celebration. I thought this was going to be hard for my family since Allen wasn't here to actually celebrate with us, but we ended up having more fun than we thought. When Shelby and my family went to Allen's grave at sunset, we laid down a list of what we would have gotten him for his birthday that year and who it was from. To our surprise, Kate and Javier were there. We each had a balloon in Allen's favorite color which was blue and wrote a compliment on it. Mom wrote, "the best son I could ever ask for." Dad wrote, "A father's best friend," I wrote, "a brother who is always there for me, even in the afterlife," and Shelby wrote, "The love of my life and my treasure" on hers. Javier took out a sharpie from his pocket and asked if he could write a message on my balloon. He wrote, "a kind soul" on it, then Kate wrote "a loveable person." We sang happy birthday, then released our balloons at the same time into the orange, pink and blue sky and watched the balloons disappear. I had a feeling Allen was watching us and smiling at his birthday celebration. My family will continue to love Allen and he will continue to love us. Kate played some music on her phone and we danced for a little while in the grassy field. After going home, the sky was absolutely beautiful. It was nice enough to sit outside after having cake. My family went inside and my friends went home, but I sat out by the pool in the lawn chair with my arms folded behind my head. I was certain I was looking Allen in the eyes through the heavenly looking sky, so I said, "happy birthday Allen." At the end of the year, Javier went to Mexico to check on his grandmother who was doing well after she got home. Kate went to Universal Studios in Los Angeles and I was on my way to Hawaii. At the airport, I was writing my feelings in the last page of my journal. Telling Allen's story has helped me a lot, even if it hurt emotionally along the way. After boarding the plane and taking off, I looked at the sky above and ground below. Absolutely lovely. My family and I went to the beach on our first night. I layed on the sand looking at the stars by the ocean and realized something. Allen may be gone, but his memories will live on forever because no one truly leaves for as long as they are remembered, and I will remember Allen for much longer than my own life.

The End