EPILOGUE
JARED
Eight monts later
My delivery is due when the trees are already beginning to paint themselves in thousands of colors. The weather is still sunny, but warm shades shimmer all around the estate, and I love standing by the window with one hand resting on my swollen belly, feeling the kicks.
My son is already hurrying into the world…
Mauro and I have talked about his name a few times, but my fated decided to leave that up to me, and I… I already have an idea of my own.
That morning, I simply know. Nobody has to tell me, and even though this is my first delivery since Tommy was born through surrogacy, I feel completely certain about what my body is doing.
Mauro and Renato are out in the field, overseeing the construction of one of the new vacation cabins, but I reach into Mauro’s mind.
Even from this distance, I can sometimes sense him, and I let him know that it’s starting.
We always communicate in this special way, but Mauro keeps his sign language to everyday conversations with the family. Tommy is already very good at it and loves signing with Mauro and the others.
Fifteen minutes later, a car driven by Mauro screeches to a stop, and he shoots out of it like he’s been fired from a cannon.
His footsteps thunder up the stairs, he rushes into the room and looks at me with wide eyes.
Tommy, who is playing with his new set of wooden figurines nearby—he has five by now, and it’s become a little hobby of his—looks up and raises his little fingers, making the sign in sign language that means, "My baby brother is coming."
I smile broadly.
Mauro comes over to me, places his hands on my belly, closes his eyes, and smiles.
"I already called Uncle Stefano," I send him.
Silvio's younger brother, Stefano, who lives on the other side of Rainbow Springs, promised to help us. Despite his age, he still comes to deliver babies for people he knows.
Everyone in the Silvio family knew that he had been a Forest Guardian before, and that this extraordinary power had come down through their bloodline.
Stefano is incredibly excited because he’s about to welcome his brother’s great-grandson into the world, the future protector of the forest. And maybe… also its healer. Who knows what our merged lineages will bring?
In Rainbow Springs, secrets like that don’t stay hidden for long because so many extraordinary beings live here. The news of my pregnancy has already spread far and wide, but the rumor that I’m in labor spreads even faster.
As my contractions begin to intensify, Stefano arrives, but he isn’t alone. A whole string of cars follows behind him, carrying his relatives and in-laws. I watch it all from the window, feeling a little self-conscious, yet overwhelmed with happiness.
Soon, the house is surrounded by a large group of people. Relatives from the Santoro family and other Sicilian families with ties to them arrive too, along with other people whose gifts are somehow connected to the forest.
I turn away from the window and return to my pouf. Between one contraction and the next, I’m gently rocking on it to loosen my tight pelvic bones.
"Quite a few of them have arrived," I murmur, feeling a little shy about it.
Stefano reassures me in his warm voice, which reminds me of Silvio. "Don’t worry, Jared. They’ve come to celebrate the birth of the new Guardian!"
"Am I imagining it, or is Mr. Davos among these people?"
Stefano checks the window and nods. "Apparently that gossipmonger decided he wasn’t going to miss the chance to be part of an event like this…" And he chuckles.
It’s a little overwhelming and deeply moving, but underneath it all, I also feel a strange, enormous happiness because I can almost physically feel myself becoming part of something greater.
Over the past few months, I’ve gradually grown into life in Rainbow Spring, meeting new people, forming tentative friendships, and finally allowing myself to believe that I have indeed found my safe place.
My labor is almost completely painless. The contractions come in gentle waves, and Mauro stays by my side, supporting me with his energy. Our Bond as True Mates eases the discomfort, allowing me to experience the birth in a calm, almost relaxing way.
When twilight arrives and the first stars begin appearing in the sky, the people outside light a bonfire, some of them dance, music softly plays, and Renato, Emilio, and Tony bring out snacks and organize an impromptu barbecue. Against this familiar, idyllic backdrop, our son is born.
Smoothly and easily he slips into Stefano’s arms, pink and squalling, greeting the world. The doctor lifts him into the air and says in Sicilian,
"A furesta ti saluta, a furesta ti abbrazza, a furesta ti curuna…"[3]
Then he places him in my arms, and I stare at my son, at his tiny face, softly wrinkled like every newborn’s.
I notice the tiniest dusting of white-gold fuzz on his head—so he has my hair—but when it comes to his eye color, that’s where the difference is…
As I bring him to my chest and his lips latch onto my nipple to nurse, he opens his eyes for a moment.
I look into them and recognize the hue immediately.
It’s the same shade as Silvio’s eyes, as well as Renato’s and Mauro’s, shimmering with all the shades of the forest.
Newborn babies often have dark or deep-navy blue eyes, but his eyes are those of a Forest Guardian from the very beginning.
Suddenly, my phone chimes with a text message.
"Is he here yet? I can’t wait to hear the news!" Star’s message comes through.
I smile. My half-brother and I met a few months ago, and the visit was wonderful. I think it healed some old wounds in both our hearts. Our families definitely grew! Star also promised he’d come visit me after my son was born, so I quickly type back.
"Pack your bags! Package delivered and currently feeding!" Then I send him a selfie of me with my bundle of joy.
When the little one is full, something makes me want to stand up. Even though I have just given birth, I feel an inexplicable strength inside me, and I want to go out to the people who have gathered to welcome my son.
I look at Mauro.
"I’d like to show them our son. They came here for him, and I think they deserve a little… presentation."
He nods with a gentle smile and helps me get up from the bed. Stefano supports me from the other side, but in truth, there’s no need for that because I feel an unusual energy and vigor inside me.
Mauro picks Tommy up, and I walk ahead carrying our newborn in my arms.
I step out onto the patio and then onto the grassy area in the back of Renato’s mansion. I walk confidently, my hair pulled back, leaving my ears exposed.
So many eyes, some of them very unusual, turn toward me.
A brief silence falls as everyone looks at me with bated breath, and I stop next to the magical tree. Only then do I face the gathered crowd and lift my son into the air, feeling almost as though I’m taking part in some forest reenactment of… The Lion King, duh!
"I’d like to introduce you to my son. His name is… Silvio!"
People begin cheering, clapping, applauding, and shouting joyfully, congratulations pouring toward me as the whole crowd seems to vibrate with positive energy.
I feel surrounded by their acceptance and happiness. I had been tossed around by the currents of my life before, hurt and used, but no longer! I proudly look at Mauro standing beside me, and he smiles.
"You look like a king, Jared," he sends me telepathically. "I bet one day you’ll become the mayor of Rainbow Spring!" And he winks.
I make a face because politics is the last thing on my mind, but who knows? It might be worth keeping my options open. This town is different, and maybe it will let me explore parts of myself that could never thrive anywhere else.
Tommy raises his hand and reaches toward Silvio’s tiny hand, gently squeezing it, then lets it go and uses both his hands to make the sign for "Welcome!"
My eyes grow wet, and Mauro notices, wrapping an arm around me and pressing a kiss to my forehead.
A moment later, Renato brings me a comfortable armchair and he also congratulates me, and I let him take little Silvio in his arms for a moment and he warmly kisses the top of my son’s head.
Then the festivities continue in full swing. People dance, drink, and rejoice as they celebrate Silvio’s birth, occasionally passing respectfully near me, glancing at my son’s tiny face and whispering blessings of good fortune over him, as Stefano explains to me.
Then… another figure emerges from the crowd. Gianni.
He must have arrived only recently, probably summoned by an excited Emilio.
Eight months ago, Gianni moved in with Lex to help him care for his uncle, and in the months since, something… unexpected happened between them. Or was it really unexpected?
Gianni approaches shyly and crouches beside my chair, glancing at Silvio.
"Congratulations, Jared! He’s absolutely adorable!" he whispers, gently stroking my son’s tiny cute foot.
But I catch the unexpected scent he has brought with him: a delicate hint of vanilla, still faint, barely perceptible, and yet definitely there.
"Am I right in guessing that someone new will be joining your life too… in nine months or so?" I smile warmly at him, and he blushes deeply. He looks truly beautiful, so much younger and fresher, his cheeks flushed and his eyes shining with a new light.
"Yes. A… miracle happened for me too."
I lean over little Silvio and wrap an arm around Gianni, then plant a kiss on his cheek.
"Congratulations! I’m so happy for you! What wonderful news on this incredible day!"
I am so excited I feel like I might burst.
My energy just needs to expand, so I turn around and meet Mauro’s eyes as he watches me with such tenderness and affection, and suddenly it comes pouring out of me, for the first time saying out loud… I feel it in my heart, this new feeling for another man.
"I love you," I whisper.
His face changes slightly, as if something passes across it, a mix of surprise, joy, and immense… relief.
For so many months, I was afraid to say it out loud.
I had never known this feeling before, so I kept holding back, unsure of what to make of it, how to put it into words.
It grew inside me slowly, through our everyday life, our sweet, tender interactions, through the way Mauro treated me and the wonderful bond he formed with Tommy, until…
my wounded, frightened heart finally opened up to him.
Now I feel it saturating me, filling every part of me, present in every breath I take. I could scream it out loud, but instead, I do the opposite. I send it to him once more through our telepathic connection.
"I love you so much, Mauro!"
He closes his eyes for a second, as if savoring the words themselves, then raises his hand and makes the sign for "I love you" toward me.
Tommy immediately picks it up and raises both his little hands, showing the sign to both me and Mauro, then waves one of them toward Silvio as well.
What more could I ask for?
After all these years, my story has a happy ending.
Taking advantage of the cheerful music sweeping everyone onto the dance floor, I walk closer to the Silvio tree that calmly rustles over the estate and over everyone celebrating today.
I place one hand against the bark of the extraordinary tree while holding my son with the other.
"Your great-grandson, little Silvio, is finally here. Thank you for giving him a chance at life through your sacrifice. It’s the most beautiful gift anyone could give."
The tree answers with a quiet rustle, and one small leaf falls from a branch and lands softly on little Silvio’s cheek, as though his great-granddad were sending him a kiss.
But all the trees in the surrounding forest seem to answer those words as well, and I can hear the soughing of the wind in their canopies.
I close my eyes, leaning my back against the rough bark as I stand there holding my son, feeling that my soul, just like Silvio’s tree, has put down its roots.
My life is healed, my dreams have come true, my wounds have been mended.
I raise my hand and close it around the pendant I still wear around my neck, the two halves of the heart joined together. I take it off and gently place the family necklace against my son’s chest. It belongs to him now, and I believe that one day it will bring him happiness too.
Then I see Mauro approaching me with Tommy in his arms, my little boy clinging tightly to him, his fair head resting trustingly against the neck of my True Mate. I’m so happy to see the father-son connection between them, to see how much love Mauro gives my son.
I walk toward them with a wide smile, and there isn’t a single worry left in my heart. There is only love, hope, and joy.
And my family. The family I’ve dreamed of for so long is finally here. And I know it will grow even more with time.
Mauro’s arm wraps around me, and we share one of those adorable family hugs. I’m now exactly the way I’ve always wanted to be. Unapologetically happy.
THE END