Spring nestled in with the unspoken promise of starting over.
The barren trees recovered quickly from winter's touch, shrouding themselves in liveliness and allowing the color green to live once more. The air was warm, and gentle winds soothed away the bad memories of yesteryear.
Life in the city had begun anew, and its people were quick to busy themselves.
Adam elected to escort some of the former prisoners back to their homes, a journey that would see him traveling for at least a month. He'd been gone for a couple of weeks already, reporting his findings regularly and making connections between the city and unmarked settlements. So much had been discovered, and there was still so much to be found. He vowed to learn it all, to chase down this new knowledge so that it could be shared, so that it would never be forgotten.
Those former prisoners who asked to stay in the city had been made citizens, and Susan led them through a program that would help them assimilate. She valued the work, knew it kept her busy and brought her happiness. It helped her cope, helped her grow back into herself as she guided others. It was how she honored Kyle, choosing to engage in life instead of merely sitting back and letting it pass her by. Rather than hoarding her power, letting it wither away, she vowed to extend it outwards, to see it reflected in others so that they might be joyous, too.
Cassia remained married to her job, continuing as the lead doctor down at the hospital while also teaching new healers. It was grueling work, taxing and exhausting, but she never ceased loving it. It was how she put herself back together, seeing her own light and life reflected in everyone she healed. The only thing that came close to the fondness she had for her job was her love for Cade, with whom she found herself falling deeper and deeper for with each passing sunrise.
He became the chief of police, fitting in well with the new life he'd been adopted into. New standards had been set, and new leaves had been turned over. Long gone were the days of his tragic past, days forcibly spent serving tyrants. He fancied himself an agent of peace, inwardly proud with each good thing he found himself doing. And at the end of the day, he came home to Cassia and felt as if his world had truly been put right again.
The two had become so close that it was almost as if they'd been stitched together, blessed with the kind of love that had no capacity to cease. It grew as they did, allowing them to carry out their tasks as individuals while also knowing that each was treasured beyond words. And while they never spoke specifically about plans for the future, they knew they didn't need to. All it took was for one to look at the other to know that this was here to stay, that this would last until the end of their time.
Everyone found themselves nestling back into the comfort of easier days, of lives so peacefully simple in the face of everything that had happened in the prior year.
Even Julia was no exception.
She realized it herself as she sat outside on a bench in town, basking in the crystal skies and quiet bustle of people milling about. A pen and paper were in her hands, and she continued to write down all the bad memories she could remember before burning the paper at her fingertips. She wasn't doing it because she felt panicked or afraid this time, but rather because it brought her peace. The wind would lift the ashes away, and she felt lighter.
Some days were still a struggle, and it was likely she would always experience them from time to time. But they became less frequent, and even she could see that she was healing. She'd never forget what happened to her, but the memories were becoming less vivid as time went by. Even though it still hurt, she liked to think it was a consequence of moving on, of trying to leave her past behind as she came back into her own.
And it was in that moment she realized she was happy again, truly and completely as she looked around and marveled at the fact that she was alive, that she was present in the world and would fight each day until her happiness was safely permanent.
Smiling to herself, she looked back to the paper and continued to write, continued to burn.
What she wasn't aware of, however, was that she had caught the eye of a young man who briefly passed by.
He looked down at her, so concentrated on what she was writing, and felt wells of guilt spring to life within him. He knew he needed to say something to her, no matter if it had been months.
Noticing the slight shadow that had stopped at her feet, Julia looked up and saw him.
Saw the healthy color in his face, saw the sunlight making his hair shine like copper and his dark eyes seem honeyed. She saw guilt there too, saw everything he wanted to say to her in the roadmap that was his mind.
She found that she wasn't afraid of him, wasn't seeing flashes of the man he was and the atrocities he'd committed. She saw the new person he had become, and she understood the warm feeling that settled in the pit of her stomach for what it was:
She had missed him.
More than the person he used to be, more than the time they once shared together.
She just missed him.
"Hello, Peter."
She could tell he wasn't expecting her kindness, especially after the length of silence between them that spanned months. Months where she had been healing, months where he had been searching.
But he was here now.
"Hey, Julia. Do you...mind if I sit with you for a minute?"
"Not at all," she said, moving her paper out of the way so Peter could join her on the bench.
He settled in, and even though his face stayed trained on the street in front of them, she caught him sneaking looks at her from the corner of his eye, trying to analyze her mood so that he could find the right words to say. She knew it was a side-effect of the power he no longer possessed, but she waited patiently. He'd find the words eventually.
It took him a few minutes of silence to speak again.
"I've been meaning to talk to you for a while," he began. "And I know I'm probably the last person you'd want to speak with, especially with the way I last treated you, but I needed to apologize. I didn't mean to make you feel so bad about not telling me about my past."
"You had every right to be upset," Julia admitted. "I would be frustrated, too."
"I shouldn't have taken it out on you, though. Especially when Cade and Adam started telling me the same things you did, that there's a reason I can't know what happened to me. It's taken me a while to make peace with it, but I wanted to say sorry. You didn't deserve that, especially when I could see that you were struggling, too."
He met her eyes then, saw himself trapped inside the endless swells of green, and he felt that familiar feeling creep back in. It was a feeling that told him he'd looked into these eyes many times before, a feeling that hinted once, maybe they had been something.
"We all struggle, Peter. We handle things in our own ways," she told him. "But time is short. In the face of it all, let's remember to live."
She thought of their situations, remarking on how similar they were just in the stark differences. The many things she wished to forget, the many things he wished to remember. Both were impossible as he would never remember, nor would she ever forget. But they were still here, the both of them. She knew that had to mean something.
He was still looking at her, searching the depths of her face while her words echoed in the empty air. He so desperately wanted to remember everything, wanted to know why his heart beat faster around her, why he thought of her so much over these past few months.
And it wasn't just because he knew she had insight into his past.
It was her.
Something he couldn't shake, a feeling he could not place.
Deep down, he knew those memories were never coming back. He would have to be okay with what he'd become, that of a blank slate given physical form. For all he knew, he'd been sleeping for every moment up until a few months ago. Maybe now was when his life truly began, the restart he would never know how much he needed.
He figured admitting that to himself was the first step in the right direction, the first step into getting himself back on track. He had no memories, but he also knew he'd make new ones. It wouldn't compensate for what he'd lost, but he wouldn't be alone in the process, either. There was so much life left for him to lead, and in the face of it all, he didn't feel like wasting any more of it.
Turning his body more toward Julia, he spoke the sentiment that had latched itself into his very being.
"We didn't get off on the right foot, exactly. I think I'd like to start over with you."
He extended his hand, the corners of his mouth twisting up into a hesitant, hopeful smile.
"Hello. My name is Peter."
Julia reached for him, letting her hand ease its way into the warmth of his. A feeling passed through the two of them, one that he could not recognize and one that she would not name. Her face crept into a smile, the whisper of something new floating in the air to circle around their joined hands. She understood the moment for what it was, that final truth passing between them, the manifestation of a new beginning.
"I'm Julia."
THE END
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Author's Note:
From the bottom of my heart, thank you to each and every one of you who took a chance on my story, who decided to open it up, who decided to spend time with these characters. Whether you read one chapter, ten chapters, or all the chapters, I can't thank you enough. I also send my endless love and gratitude to the people I've known in my own life who inspired these characters, who gave them their own dimensions beyond what I could imagine. You are immortalized within them.
I know this last chapter has been a long time coming, and I apologize for how long it's taken. After spending nearly six years with this series, trying to cap it all off in a way that felt both emotionally finalized as well as open-ended was intimidating to say the least. Add that to never ending schoolwork, and you've got a recipe for spaced out updates. (College is no joke.)
Despite this, I hope I've done you all justice through my words. This story has meant so much to me, seen me through many highs and lows of both writing and my life. This story was my training ground and my journal, my epic fantasy and my hidden reality, my companion and my safety net. It showed me the kind of writer I want to be, gave me hope for everything I could accomplish. I owe this series everything, and I hope you come away from it with messages of hope and new beginnings, of love and friendship in all its forms.
I could go on and on, but I think I'll let the books breathe for themselves now. Powers, Liberation, Final Truth...I have loved you all and can now set you free. You have defined an era of my life, and I can't thank you enough.
Even though this may sound like a goodbye, I still have no plans to stop writing. It's a craft I fall more and more in love with in each passing moment, and I can't imagine my life without that outlet. I've been toying around with an idea for a few years now, and I'll be working that into a new series soon. I don't have a time frame for it yet, but I hope to have posted the new story by spring. (Don't hold me to that though. Again, college is no joke.)
Thank you for sharing this journey with me, and I can't wait for you to see what's in store. But until then, I'll say a short-lived goodbye for now. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season, and I look forward to sharing new stories with you soon!