zelda; mc

epilogue

|march 2016|

listen to never say never by the fray

his funeral was on a saturday. one week after he jumped.

when lily heard the news she didn't know what to do. she was so shocked for a while.

then it all hit her at once.

her best friend killed himself, he was dead. michael was gone and lily didn't even say goodbye. she never got to tell him she was in love with him.

at his funeral tons of people shared their condolences, but lily didn't care. was it supposed to make her feel better that her third cousin she'd never met before was sorry for her loss? that wouldn't bring michael back. nothing would.

at the church, people expected lily to give some sort of speech like michael's mom did. but she couldn't. she didn't want to stand up in front of all those people and say how sad she was. that wasn't going to bring michael back.

no matter how many tears she shed, things she broke, or counselors she saw none of it would bring him back.

after the funeral, an officer came to lily handing her a piece of paper with her name on it. they said it was among the others of michael's belongings.

so lily sat on a park bench nearby and reluctantly unfolded the paper.

dear lily,

you don't know how sorry i am. i'm sorry for being so selfish. but i couldn't do it anymore.

don't spend your life crying over me. live your life. graduate college, fall in love, have a family, whatever. i'll be happy whatever you do, just make it count. because lily one day you will fall madly in love with a boy and he will love you just the same. you'll have the most adorable children, and you'll make the most excellent mother.

now lily i'm going to tell you a story. it's about a boy who fell in love with his best friend. he didn't know how to tell her, so he never did. but now i'm telling you how much i love you. i won't ever stop loving you, in this life or the next.

please never forget that little boy who couldn't find a seat on the bus, never forget how much he loved you either.

never think for a minute this was your fault, it was my own stupid fault. and i am so sorry for leaving you, i never want to hurt you lil.

but i had to leave, because that was life's plan for me, but it's not for you.

life wants you to live a long, happy life.

so do it, for me.

love,

link.

lily wiped away her tears and folded the letter back up. she looked up and whispered, "it's always been you."

+

years later lily fell in love with someone who cared about her. they had two kids, a little girl named sara, and a boy named michael.

everyday she read michael's letter as a reminder he wanted her to be happy.

and she was.

and as michael watched the love of his life grow up and start a family, so was he.

end