Epilogue
“Rule the World”
by BANNERS
Lucy
“There it is!” Meera exclaims, pointing at the large tower lit up by twinkling yellow lights in the distance. She grabs my hand, and we race forward, Natalie and Julien following in our wake.
We stop a few feet away from it, panting. Natalie whips out her camera and tripod for a selfie, then pauses. Julien’s already told us photographing the Eiffel Tower at night is illegal. Sounds silly, but, hey, who are we to argue with the French?
Instead, we stand and admire the beautiful tower, the French architecture, and the crowd swarming it.
Then Julien leads us to the grassy lawn near the tower, and we lounge on blankets, chatting idly about the hawkers and the (quite possibly) scammers who are shoving Eiffel Tower trinkets in the faces of passersby.
This night is flawless, one I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
I’m in the most romantic city in the world with not just my two best friends, but also the girl I’ve loved for longer than I can remember.
Meera and I have been together for nearly four blissful months now, and every day, I find I love her more and more.
Mom’s still not happy about this. Our conversations are getting shorter by the day, and I’m making no effort to accommodate her bigoted feelings.
Maybe she’ll accept Meera someday, or maybe she won’t. It isn’t my problem to fix; it’s hers.
Julien hooks his arm around Natalie, pulling her closer and whispering sweet nothings in her ear.
They’re adorable, and now that Natalie’s gotten into a six-month photography course here in Paris, I know they’ll make it.
I reach into my bag for the queer young adult rom-com Meera and I have been reading together.
Café Kismat’s book club is still going strong, especially now that Meera has a bigger role in the business and has nearly doubled their revenue in the months after graduation.
Although I won’t be in Madre Maria for the next one, since college starts the week before it, I want to be part of the experience just the same. I’ll tune in over Zoom.
“Where were we?” Meera asks absentmindedly, flipping through the book until she gets to the dog-eared page. She’s not one for bookmarks; she’s more likely to misplace them than actually make use of them.
I rest my head on her shoulder and listen to her read the next chapter aloud. She looks so beautiful in the moonlight, with her dark hair in a messy braid and her curious eyes scanning every word on the page.
Two weeks until I leave for UCLA. I gulp.
Meera’s voice fades as my worries set in about what’s next for us.
Mr. Rao’s tarot prediction months ago said navigating a long-distance relationship would be a roller coaster, like they often are, but as long as we’re strapped in and ready for the ride, it’ll be worth it.
But what if I lose her? What if we can’t make this work? What if we go from friends, to enemies, to lovers, to exes?
“Hey.” Meera’s lips brush my temple. “You know I can sense when you’re anxious.”
I stifle a weak laugh. “Yeah, you aren’t Mr. Rao’s daughter for nothing.”
A wrinkle appears between her brows. “What is it?”
“Same as always,” I whisper, nestling my face into the crook of her shoulder. “The future scares me.”
“Me too,” she says, tilting my chin up for a quick kiss. “But I’m very hard to get rid of, Lucy Hughson.”
“And thank God for that.” I refocus my attention on the book and let her voice bring back my hope. Despite the tumultuous year we’ve had, this love came back to us. This love is ours to keep. And I will never, ever let go.