"Thank you," Emily said as she held the paper to her heart, letting sobs escape her lips.
"You have no idea," Mitch told Julie.
Julie smiled. "I write music in the same room that he did, and I can tell you that it's a magical, happy place." The two adults chuckled.
"That's nice to know," Mitch said.
"I know he was only 17 when he -- but he lived doing the one thing he was born to do. Not many people find that, but Luke did. He was so lucky."
Luke and Ruth poofed away.
Julie smiled. "It was so nice to meet you."
"It was nice to meet you, too," Mitch replied.
Julie left the house and looked for Luke and Ruth, but they were gone.
OUTSIDE JULIE'S HOUSE - NIGHT
Ruth glanced at Luke. "That was for me?"
Luke nodded. "Yeah. Partly. But after your death, I just... I couldn't finish it. It was too painful. I could only finish it after I ran away. Being in my own space..."
"Luke, you don't have to explain."
"Did it hurt when you died?"
"No, not really. I was unconscious, so I didn't feel much. Did it hurt for you?"
"No, not really. Ruthie, the song you wrote."
"You kept it."
"I couldn't part with it."
Borrowed Time:
A clock chimes the hour
Time is running out
Thin air, filled lungs, gasping breaths
A hopeless wish for peace
Hours, minutes, years and days
It's only borrowed time
Desperate to be remembered
Before the clock strikes twelve
Voices breaking, tear-filled eyes
No one wants a final goodbye
Words not spoken, a failed admission
A rattled breath, barely clinging to life
Hours, minutes, years and days
It's only borrowed time
Desperate to be remembered
Before the clock strikes twelve
One soft gasp of air
Then silence falls forevermore
Hours, minutes, years and days
It's only borrowed time
Desperate to be remembered
Before the clock runs out
My time is running out
Luke turned to her. "Ruth, this is amazing."
She looked down at her hands and nodded. "It was the only way I could express what I was feeling. Luke, I-"
"Hey," Julie greeted as she walked up.
"Hey," Luke and Ruth replied, the latter in a slightly annoyed tone.
"I'm sorry for overstepping."
Luke moved from the pillar and closer to Julie as he held Ruth's hand and said, "No, we... We just had to leave. That was..."
"You don't have to say anything."
"Yeah, I do. Uh... I didn't have many regrets in my life except for running out on my parents. Especially my mom... so thank you. And never telling Ruth how I felt before she died. So, thanks again."
"You two helped me feel more connected to my mom, so... I wanted to do the same thing for you."
"That was perfect," Ruth told the girl as she tried to hug her, but phased through her.
YOU ARE READING
End of May // Luke Patterson
Teen FictionRuth Peters was as much a part of the band as her brother and his three bandmates. Silent sparks fly between two lyricists. But by the the time one realizes how they feel, it's too late. Twenty-six years later, for her at least, she and her bandma...
