All the Best People Are | ✓

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Epilogue
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I knew who I was this morning, but I changed quite a few times since then.
~Alice
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Listen to 93 Million Miles by Jason Mraz for this chapter.
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When you do something in the name of love, you never come to regret it. Not when you put in all of yourself. Not when you love someone more than you value your own life. 

It had been ten years since the day I'd met Aurelio Finley. It had been ten years since I'd left my home forever. As I looked at it then, I could see that much had changed since I'd left. It felt more lively, for one. Leo squeezed my hand, as if sensing my worry. 

"I'm here. We can do this. Together." I smiled up at him, trying to hide my distress. "But what if seeing them makes me....."

Regret my decision? 

Want to go back?

But I couldn't bring myself to say the words aloud. Nothing scared me more than the thought of losing Leo. 

"According to your theory, your biggest fear now must be heights, right?" Leo asked, in an attempt to change topic. He was referring to a conversation we'd had earlier about my theory that your biggest fear was what made you die in your past life. 

"Right, but I didn't lose my life that day. I started living another one. Every day with you feels like an adventure, Aurelio Finley. You make me feel more alive than anything in the world. I love you, and that's the beginning and end to everything."

I walked into the garden to see the one thing I'd wished for all my life. There, seated together at our long tea table, was my family. I saw Mom at one end, Dad and Mia beside her, the Finleys on the other side, Julia beside them, and at the head of the table..... was my little brother. 

It was Tyler's fifteenth birthday and they were celebrating exactly as we had ten years ago. Many things had changed, but some traditions would always stay the same. I smiled at the sight, and a wave of grief passed over me. As I looked at all of them, smiling and laughing, I craved to be among them, but when I looked up at Leo, his grey eyes twinkling at the sight before us, I knew I'd fall a thousand times over for him. 

Looking at my brother, all grown up, I remembered the last words he'd ever said to me. I smiled to myself. "Back before sunset, Little Brother."

Someone special once told me that somewhere, there is a boundary between life and death, but if you have enough love inside your heart, that boundary is invisible. 

If you love someone enough, it's impossible for them to truly leave. That's what I soon found out when Tyler's eyes immediately flicked towards me at the sound of my voice. He got up from the table and ran towards me at full speed, engulfing me in a hug. 

The ghost of my memory was so deeply anchored by his love that against all odds, he was able to see me. 

He smiled, and I saw Robin in him, just as I had countless times before. Except this time, I finally knew why. Turns out I'd never really lost her at all. 

With tears in his light blue eyes, he whispered, "Together. Forever and always."

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