21. Epilogue
Epilogue
Isadora
T hey said I didn’t need to give away the house, but I sold it anyway. After a few months in Sweden, I came back home with the three of them. They helped me pack the rest of the house and organize the things I had in storage, and finally, I was ready to say goodbye to that part of my life.
My dad wasn’t in that house. He wasn’t in Sweden, either.
It took time, but I finally understood that people who loved us never left.
I carried Dad inside me every single day.
His memories were mine, his multitudes I thought about every single day.
He was in me, screaming in my ear, smiling when I saw something he liked.
Proud any time I forged my own way in this world, just like he did.
With the pack, I had to learn and understand more than a dad. My dad was a real person. He was flawed, he made mistakes, but he loved me fiercely, and I loved him back. I didn’t mind that he was flawed because I was too.
Anders, Sven, and Per let go of a lot of anger once we officially mated.
It wasn’t just because they loved me and they couldn’t keep hating my father like that, but because that hatred was misplaced when we accepted that destiny joined us.
Dad had to leave and find happiness outside the pack to lead us here.
Accepting the love we had for each other was also accepting that sometimes we had to hurt to build our futures.
Per lowered the flowers he brought to Dad’s grave, a somber expression on his face. He reached for me, and I held his hand. I had gone to Dad’s grave every month since he died, and every time I felt like the world was crushing down on me and I had no way to protect myself.
This time, I knew everything was going to be okay.
Sven cleaned the grave, and Anders watered the flowers. Together, we cleaned up the place, silently and respectfully. I had always cleaned his grave alone. No one ever held my hand, no one ever grieved as intensely as I did. Until now.
Per hugged me close to his chest when the others were done fussing over the grave.
We stood in loud silence, my eyes filled with tears, but this time, I was grateful too.
My days of standing here alone were over.
No more me against the world. I could stumble and fall; I could be vulnerable and difficult.
I could be anything at all times, and I was never going to be alone again.
That was my first lesson in being part of a pack. A lesson I learned happily.
The universe was so funny, right? It created pathways never traveled, never imagined, but always delivered you to your destination. This was how I felt standing beside my pack with the warm breeze of Brazil and a watery smile over my lips.
I was finally where I needed to be.
The tears rolled down my cheeks, but I wiped them away before kneeling over the grave one last time. I traced Dad’s name with the tear-soaked pad of my finger and sent him a smile in heaven.
“Thanks, Dad.”