Nonexistent

~Epilogue~

~Ten Years Later~

Waves crashed against the beach below, the wind rustling gently through the swaying palm trees that lined the sides of the house, fading into the thicker forest on one side. The salty sea breeze flooded the noses of the children who played in the sandy backyard of the large house.

One, a little girl, had vivid green eyes and bright brown hair, almost blonde in the harsh sunlight. The other, was a smaller boy with dark hair and lighter eyes, the two almost a stark contrast of each other. Chasing them was an older woman, with wrinkles by her eyes and grey strands decorating her hair.

Although older, she poured all of her energy into chasing the two around, reaching to grab them when they got close, laughing as they squealed when she would almost get them. It gave her a new reason to wake up, and to stay sober. Having gone through almost two years of rehab, the woman had started her new life on a better path.

She wouldn't have made it had it not been for her only child, her daughter. Her beautiful daughter had endured so much just because she could not grapple with the loss of her husband, even though he was a horrid man. It took time, but now she was here and able to play with the bright, innocent souls that were her grandchildren.

From the porch, a young couple sat on a swing, the man gently moving his leg so the swing swayed gently. He had a tanned arm wrapped around the smaller woman beside him, whose paler skin contrasted his own. Her long, glossy black hair trailed over his arm and onto the back of the swing. Her head rested gently on his shoulder as she smiled, watching her two children play with her healthy mother.

The man glanced down at his wife, looking at the ring on her hand for a moment before moving to press a kiss to her head, pulling her closer. He knew it had been hard for her, especially once her mother finally went to rehab and there were late night calls and relapses.

Yet now, through all of it, she was still beside him, even after all these years of fights and struggles. And she had brought their two wonderful children into the world, and he remembered the day she told him she was pregnant just as she vividly remembered the day he finally proposed.

It had been a long road. One of doubts, struggles, and insecurities. But it had also been one of hope, trust, and love. And now here they sat, together at the same house where she had spent her childhood, watching their kids play with their grandmother.

The woman moved to grasp his hand on her shoulder with her own, giving it a tight squeeze. He squeezed back. She smiled, forever grateful that she had found something that did exist with someone she could trust with her entire being. True love.