Snowflakes In Autumn (A Novella)

Epilogue

"Mr. Scott's awake," the doctor said when she stepped into the waiting room. "He's on a lot of pain medication, so he isn't fully coherent, but I think it would be all right if he had a visitor. Only one at a time, however. We don't want to overwhelm him, especially with what he's been through."

Noah's mommy stood up from the seat next to her and took a step forward, then turned and stood in front of Faith, holding out her hand. "He'd want to see that you're safe."

Faith nodded and took her hand, then passed her over to the doctor.

His room was at the very end of the hallway and Faith looked in front of her as the room got closer, too scared to look at the rooms they passed. She'd only been in a hospital two other times, but this time wasn't for a Ryan's broken arm or for her stitches. This time, everything felt different.

When she opened the door, the doctor said she had five minutes, then Noah would have to rest for a little bit before the next visitor. Faith had so much to say to him, she wasn't sure five minutes would be enough. But Noah's mommy said it was important to trust the doctors, so she'd have to do what she was told.

There were so many tubes coming out of Noah that Faith took a step back. He almost looked dead, and that thought made tears spill onto her cheeks. He was her best friend; her only real friend. He made her the best grilled cheeses, pushed her on the swing whenever she asked and brushed her hair like she wanted him to. Her mommy always rushed it so she could go do something else. Noah never rushed.

"Little snowflake." His voice was so quiet that Faith had to get closer just to hear him.

So many tubes. So many machines. Noah was the strongest man she knew, but he looked so tiny in that hospital bed.

Faith scooted the chair in the room closer to him, then sat in it so she could be next to him. "I thought I'd lose you too," she said as she wiped the tears from her face, only for fresh ones appear.

Tears began filling his own eyes, and he squeezed them shut. "Your dad?"

"And Hope," Faith told him. "You're the only one I have left, Noah. Promise you won't leave me."

He didn't promise right away like he did with all their other promises. Instead, he kept his eyes squeezed shut and looked like he was in pain. A machine beeped a little faster and Noah sucked in a breath real slow, then let it out real slow. He did this a bunch of times until the machine didn't beep so fast.

When his eyes opened, he looked over at her. Before the awful day, his eyes looked like happy clouds with the pale gray and green. Today they were like gloomy clouds her daddy pointed out in the sky before he told her it was time to go inside. "You have your mother and brother left, little snowflake."

"It isn't the same!" Faith yelled. But she didn't want his machine to go weird again, so Faith tried not to be angry. "Mommy doesn't love me like you do, or like daddy did. She doesn't want to take care of me. You want to take care of me, Noah. I know you do. That's why you have to promise me."

Noah's hand moved and there was a clampy thing on his finger that didn't fall off. "Come here, little snowflake." Faith did as he asked and put her small hand in his. "I promise I will never leave you. I promise to keep making you your grilled cheeses, but that means you have to promise to eat all your veggies."

Faith's nose scrunched up. She hated veggies. The way her mommy made them, they were all squishy and gross. But she'd promise to do just about anything if it meant Noah wouldn't die. "I promise."

"Good. And I promise to always brush your hair. I'll even learn different types of braids and make you look like a princess."

Faith laughed at that, and so did the doctor who brought her in. She turned to see the woman standing in the doorway, keeping a close eye on them. Faith didn't even know she was still here. When she looked back at Noah, he was giving her a smile that looked real tired. "That means we're going to get married? You can get me that ring I saw at the shop, and we can get married and I can stay with you instead of mommy."

"No, little snowflake," Noah said as his head moved back and forth slowly. "I can't marry you. I'm always going to be an old man compared to you. But I promise I will look after you as much as your mom lets me, and when you are old enough to get married, I'll walk you down the aisle."

Not every memory returned, but after a while, it didn't much matter anymore. Faith remembered the important things like her father's love and her sister's spirit, two things she would forever cherish. There were fresh memories she created with Noah that she held close to her heart every day.

He did as he promised. He made her grilled cheeses, and still brushed her hair, although she didn't much require the princess hairdo at her age. Noah was always there looking out for her and helped her to build a life in the city that held so many of her cherished memories. The man had even walked her down the aisle at their own wedding two winters after he'd come back into her life, making her new promises in his vows that he'd upheld every day they were together.

Despite the age difference between them, he was never an old man. Having a toddler around the house made him act like one every now and again, but he would always be young and full of light to Faith.

They'd had Hope two years after being married, and now Eddie, named after her father, exhausted even her.

Still, Faith wouldn't change anything. She'd never have her mother's love and hadn't even spoken to the woman in six years since the day Noah kicked her out. She would forever only be on 'good enough' terms with her brother. But now, she had a new family, the love she always sought, and the connection that never wavered even through all the years they'd been apart.