EPILOGUE

                                    

                                          

                            

                                
                            
                              
                                  
                              
                              
                                
                                  
                                  
                                
                              
                             
                            
                            
                          
                          
60 sunrises later:
Sitting in front of her didn't seem right to Arlen.
He just kept looking at her.
Is she the girl I fell in love with? The one that made my heartbeat quickened and my hands sweating. Is she the one? He thought. 
"Why Greeny...?" He asked her in a light whisper. 
She didn't reply. 
"Why did ya do that?"
No reply. 
"Just a letter? That's all I have of ya."
He opened his palm to look at the rusted necklace in his hand. 
"This. This is yours. Why did ya gave it to me huh?"
He wore the necklace on top of his and a chocked sob emitted from his lips. 
"It's my birth day. Ya said ya will always be here. With me. On my birth day. What about that oath? Ya broke so many oaths, greeny..... So many.
He sighed and couldn't control his shaky voice and tears anymore. 
"I-I know I went away. I did. I-I even know you're angry. But I can fix it. I can fix it all. J-just come to me. I-I will keep ya happy Greeny. I apologize, baby. I did nay know I was being bethrothed. I rejected her, love. Please forgive me." 
He was on the verge of his tears with his head ducked between his legs. 
"I love ya" he whispered and looked up. 
"I LOVE YA! YA HEAR ME! STOP THIS MADNESS! COME TO ME! Just.... Come to me."
He took the grave soil in between his hands and crushed it, watching it smear around and ooze out of the gaps of his fingers. 
He watched each grain drop, back into the soil and disappear. 
"Look at this soil. Just like my life. Crushed!" He crushed some more soil while tears escaping his eyes. 
"I can nay do this, Emerald. I can nay. Why did ya save me? I nay can live like this."
He broke down into tears and crushed the soil in between his hands trying to escape his life when he knew he was surrounded by his demons. 
He felt a hand on his shoulder and froze. "Nay my child. Nay think that. Nothing is impossible. Ya can do it. Believe yourself."
Arlen looked back and saw the same elderly man, standing behind him with four other men looking at Arlen with huge smiles on there faces. 
Arlen shrugged the man's hand off his shoulder and looked back at the resting Emerald. 
"Get away." He spoke in a monotone. 
"My child-"
"I AM NAY YOUR CHILD!" Arlen stood up and stepped closer to the elderly man. 
"Ya had the time to stop me. Ya had the time to warn me. Ya had it. But. Ya did nay." Arlen seethed from in between his teeth and with one last look at the man, he sat back down beside Emerald. 
"Nay my child. That nay happened. I only saw ya the day ya found out that Emerald had gone. I loved her with all my heart."
Arlen looked back at the man and eyed him up and down. "What's your relation with her?"
The man sighed and sat opposite to Arlen, beside Emerald. 
"She was just like my daughter. When my wife died during birth of my little daughter, Isabella, I was in a bad place. I shifted to that building in hopes to give my daughter the perfect life and I met, Emerald."
The man had a wide smile on his face one that had Arlen's heart rushing and racing. 
"She helped me cheer up and use to bring me food everyday. She used to tell me tales about the boat boy-" the man chuckled and looked at Arlen. "Aye. Ya. It was ya."
Arlen looked down and closed his eyes tightly not wanting to blame himself for it but he knew deep inside. He did. 
"One day I did nay get any food from her, so I decided to check on her, only to find her family leaving in a hurry. When I asked them where Emerald was those churls just left with their faces pale as a ghost. Fucking lunatics."
Arlen opened his eyes and a tear fell catching the sight of the elderly man. 
He nudged Arlen and Arlen looked up. The man instantly smiled at him but Arlen did nay. 
The man looked at Arlen's messy hair, which was from the whole lot of pulling he did. His eyes were bloodshot red and his cheeks and nose were blue from crying so much. 
The man felt pity for the boy. But knowing he had received that most of his life, he said, "Would ya like to know anything about our Emerald? She was known as the lady who gave free cookies." 
The man chuckled wanting to ease the tension but Arlen just blinked and looked down. 
The man looked up at his men and saw them shrug and look at Arlen with pitiful eyes. 
"Would ya?" Arlen nodded and looked at the man. 
"Raise your question my dear. What is it that you would like to know about the lady who gave free cookies?" The man chuckled but his chuckle died down when Arlen asked away. 
Arlen looked up from Emerald's grave, at the man and in a light, almost inaudible whisper he asked. 
"Why did she do this to me? Did I even know her? Did I ever? Who was Emerald?"
He maintained eye contact. 
"Who was her?"