The Timekeeper

Epilogue

Three weeks later...

I had been staring at the wall for the past ten minutes. I'd been waiting for this moment for such a long time that I was still unsure about what I really wanted to write. I always wanted it to be perfect, but I knew now that nothing was ever really perfect. My fingers still held the small piece of chalk, though they were now coated in a thin layer of chalk dust. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to will the right words to come to me. Letting out the breath, I felt like giving up. I'd wanted to write something on the wall since I first discovered the café, but I still couldn't do it. Arms wrapped around me suddenly, and without having to open my eyes or turn around I knew exactly whom they belonged to.

"Hello, Jase," I smiled as I opened my eyes and leaned back into his chest.

"How? You didn't even turn around?" he exclaimed, resting his chin on top of my head.

"I'm a pretty smart girl." I turned around, swinging my arms around his neck and pulling his face down closer to mine.

Jase let out a chuckle, "that you are," he grinned before placing his lips softly on mine.

It was only quick, and I pouted when he pulled away, but it only made him smile. There was nothing wrong with his smile, gosh no, it always somehow managed to send butterflies fluttering through my stomach. But I had wanted him to give me another kiss, or at least a longer one, though Jase had other plans. We walked over to a couple of bean bags resting against a bookcase nearby, settling in just as a waitress came by to ask if we wanted anything.

"Just a hot chocolate for me today, Ruby," I smiled, remembering the first time Jase and I had come here together and the scene we had made in front of everyone, including Ruby.

She had given Jase a hard time ever since then, and I couldn't help but laugh. It was crazy to think how much things had changed since that day, since our first proper meeting. We had been through so much since then, especially within the last month. Since the Timekeeper was found to be a fraud, the country went mad. Riots broke out all over the country, mainly in front of the Timekeeper clinics and factories, though I never understood what they were trying to get out of it. Of course everyone was furious at being lied to for fifty years, but there wasn't anything we could do that could change the past. It took a little while for people to just accept what had happened, but now everything was somewhat back to normal.

"What about you, Jase?" Ruby asked, giving him a genuine smile now. It was clear she had forgiven him for how he had treated me, thankfully, since we were both regulars here now.

"I'll just grab a hot chocolate too, thanks," he replied, surprised by Ruby's change of heart.

"I don't think she hates you anymore," I grinned once she had left.

"I was thinking the same thing," Jase laughed before shifting in the beanbag.

He glanced towards the blank spot on the wall where I had previously been standing in front of, before turning back to me.

"Still can't figure out what to write?" he asked.

"No," I sighed, slumping back into the beanbag. "Why is it so hard to think of something?"

Jace chuckled, before shaking his head, "You can't force it, Candy. Just let the words come to you on their own."

"That could take forever though," I groaned.

He laughed, before leaning forward and kissing my cheek. "You'll figure it out. You're a smart girl, remember?"

I rolled my eyes at him, pushing him back into the beanbag. He acted like it had hurt, and pretended to ignore me as he grabbed a book from the shelf behind him and started flicking through the pages, and I couldn't help but admire him. His blonde hair was just long enough to fall into his eyes, which annoyed his Aunty Kath so much she had threatened to cut it herself if he didn't hurry up and do something about it. Jase had laughed it off, but I was pretty sure she was being serious about it. Isabel then proceeded to chase him around the house yelling that she was going to shave all of his hair off, which had only made Jase laugh harder. He had tried to hide behind me, but I was only an obstacle for Isabel to try and jump over. We had ended up in a pile of bodies on the floor, laughing so hard our stomachs had started to hurt.