Never Alone

Epilogue

Luke's P.O.V.

I watch Ania and Matthew playing on the lawn, their laughter filling the beautiful summer day. It's been three months since I last saw them playing, three months since I heard them laugh last, three months since she died. It took three months for my mind to come to terms with what happened, but my heart, my heart still hasn't fully accepted the facts, it doesn't want to accept the facts. Nothing has been the same since she left, everyone changed, life itself has changed.

"Luke come play with us", Michael grabs my hand and pulls me towards their playing area, "pleaseee". A smile formed on my lips and I got up from my spot on the ground. I enjoyed playing with the kids, they are my family, they're all I have left. As I look behind me I see Charlotte's mom coming outside, she wears a warm smile on her face like it's been there for years and she gives me a small nod. I smile back at her, she is not as bad as you think. How she treated her girls was absolutely horrible, she told me why she acted like that and I understand. I'm not going to share the reason because that is her story to tell, and I'm not saying that I take her reasoning as an excuse that will pardon her for her actions. What I will explain is that life happened, she came across a brick wall and she struggled to get over it. She didn't know how to deal with it so she became what she was. Am I saying that this is right? No, absolutely not, but I understand. If Charlotte were here and she heard the story she would understand too, she wouldn't forgive her right away, but she would eventually. Charlotte's mother needed to talk to someone but she didn't want to burden anyone, especially not Charlotte.

Let me tell you a secret, everyone hits a brick wall in their life, it's inevitable, it's how we deal with getting over it that makes our stories different. Unfortunately it takes a village to get over, and that's okay, to ask for help is okay. Don't feel that you're burden because you are not, if someone told you that forget them, they're wrong. You matter in this world, you matter to someone and that person will love you no matter the struggles you are dealing with. Just make sure you do the toughest part of getting over that brick wall. Talk to someone, ask them if they will listen, and if you do ask I can tell you the answer, are you ready for it? They'll say yes, they won't judge you and they'll sit there and listen.

Charlotte's mom called us to come get lunch, we decided to have a picnic in the backyard since it was a beautiful day. We all sat on the blanket, a spread of food making our mouth water before our eyes. As we dug in I took a second to look at the people sitting with me. Their laughter filled the air and their smile reached their eyes, they were happy again. If you asked me three months ago, I didn't think achieving happiness was ever possible, I didn't think I was going to function ever again. It was hard at first, I didn't want to go on with life knowing that she wasn't going to be with me, without hearing her voice, without seeing her smile.

Ania tapped my arm to get my attention, distracting me from my thoughts.

"Do you think Lottie is happy now?", I was taken aback, Ania never wanted to talk about Charlotte, it was as if mentioning her name was like saying a bad word. I looked to her mother who's eyes held grief and pain. Although she was laughing again she always thought about Charlotte and how she treated her. I can tell she blamed herself for her death.

As I turned to answer Ania a red winged butterfly landed on my leg. I smiled down at it then glanced up to the blue sky, at that moment I knew the answer to Ania's question.

"I think she is very happy and safe in the place she is right now", I looked at the little girl and saw that my answer comforted her. The butterfly sat on my leg for a while, it didn't move expect the few times it flapped it's wings. I lay back on the blanket watching the clouds move and listening to the kids play. Charlotte's mother had her hands behind her as she was leaning back with her eyes closed, soaking in the sun.

Eventually the butterfly flew away and I watched as it did, knowing that Charlotte never left, we will never be alone. 

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