Forever Your Mother,

Epilogue

A few weeks had passed, and the day before their move had come. Dee hadn't been happy with it, but he hadn't been completely closed off about the idea either. There wasn't going to be a beach at their new town, but Dee had done some research and found out he'd be moving to an area with tons of museums! Of course, Dee would miss the sea, but he was glad to be moving somewhere he could learn more about the past. Not to mention, he would rather leave his home alongside his mom, and create a new home for themselves, rather than stay and be separated from his mom. After he and his mother had talked, he had figured that just because he felt like his mother was forcing him to move, it didn't mean his mom hadn't cared about him. Sometimes, our parents will do things we don't understand. Sometimes, they will do things that may upset us by accident. But that doesn't mean they don't love us any less. Instead of seeing the move as a bad thing, he realized he should see it as an opportunity to travel and meet new people, just how Thaleia had.

Throughout the past week, Dee and his mom made sure to say goodbye to all of the friends they had made and goodbye to all of their favorite places. Dee and his mom had even gone shopping for a new glass bottle, perfect for securing Thaleia's letters. When all the packing had been done, and the only thing left to do was to load their truck, Dee's mom had thrown a Goodbye Party at the beach for all of his friends to go to. It had been the most fun he had in ages, building sandcastles, swimming, playing frisbee, and even introducing a certain pomegranate seed contest to his friends. Sadly, the fun day had gone by quicker than expected, and the beach started to lose people as the sun went closer to the horizon. The last of Dee's friends had left and it was time to pick up the decorations of the beach party. As Dee and his mother loaded the last of everything into the trunk, the boy had asked his mother if he could stay alone on the beach for just a little longer.

"Of course, kid," With a smile in her voice, his mom unlocked the car, "I'll be waiting in the car. Just come when you're ready."

Nodding, Dee walked back to the shore with his bottled letters in hand, admiring the sun setting into the deep blue ocean. The boy pulled his sandals off and sank his toes into the muddy sand. With every wave that glided onto the sand came a deep breath gathered in Dee's chest. And, with every wave that rolled back to the sea, the boy would let the deep breath out. Saying the last of his goodbyes, Dee smiled down at the bottle before taking a step back and launching it into the sea. The boy trusted the waves to carry Thaleia's words, and he hoped it would someday reach someone who needs it just as much as Dee had. He watched the bottle land with a splash far into the seawater as he thought to himself, May the sea lead her messages across the sea, to someone who may be in need of reading her wise and thoughtful words.