graffiti (completed)

Epilogue.

Hello people of Earth.

I've been working on this story for a bit more than two years, and as Casey has changed, I have too. In different ways, but still many. If you've been following it, then maybe you have changed a lot, too.

Never in my life did I think I would finish a novel, with actual effort.  Never in my life did I think this story would get more than twenty views, three of four favorites. Thank you so much to my friend Fairooz, who made the cover, my friends Mahek and Vikki, who proofread many (but not all) chapters, and you, especially. I wouldn't have done this if not for you. I love you.

- River

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I was usually very good at acting. I guess this was an exception.

The summer was arriving as quickly as the bright "who-cares" attitude rising up at both school and home. I went out on my board almost every day,and most kids were out, too. The amount of parties with pools rose like gas prices.

We'd been driving for at least two hours, if not more; and it was much, much different than driving two hours with Emma and the rest of the crew. For one, none of them were my dad.

"You nervous?" He said, hands gripping the steering wheel.

Through a series of conversations between Melodie and him, we ended up talking again. It was always traditional conversations, like a teacher I saw often instead of a dad. You could tell he was happy about it.

"Are you coming in with me?" I looked into the rear view mirror.

He looked back at me and paused.

"If you want me to," scratched his nose. He looked back to the road when I looked at him.

"It's fine," I leaned back and looked out the window.

We were driving out to the city, once more for me, to visit my mother. 

I didn't ask why she was in New York, or where she was exactly, because the thought alone of seeing her made my breathing speed up and my heartbeat flutter. I'd only asked if he was joking. 

"Happy birthday, by the way," he spoke as we slowed down.

An outdoor cafe is where he stopped, bustling with people out enjoying the pre-summer sun. I could already feel the tan I would get. I rubbed my arm when he turned off the car, hand hesistantly gripping the door.

"She said she'd be at an outside table."

"Do you know which one?"

He shook his jead with a smile. "You'll figure it out."

"Try not to leave, yeah?" I said before hopping out of the car.

That was the first time I felt truly lost, in a very long time.

I'd been the little kid in a mall before, a very long time ago. I lost my mom at some store and started crying. I just stayed inside of it, hiding behind clothes. She found me with a smile, holding my face between her hands. When I started blubbering, she had laughed.

"There's no need to be afraid," she had said, "You got along just fine on your own. And you weren't alone for long. You'll always find me, okay?"

Maybe it was just some words said to make me stop crying. Maybe it was unintentional foreshadowing.

I'd felt lost then, like I was not sure what to do, but stuck in a familiar place. I'd never been to this cafe. I'd never been in a crowd of people and full handed waiters in a crowded city. I hadn't seen my mother in ten years, now that I was seventeen. And she hadn't seen me since kissing me goodbye as I stepped on the bus to second grade. Maybe she didn't show up. Maybe she did, and figured I wouldn't. Maybe she left to go to the bathroom and I'd stand here for a solid ten minutes twiddling my thumbs, hoping that I don't have to sit at a random table. I'd recognize her, but she might not recognize me.