Epilogue
Two months later
The morning of Charles and Marion’s wedding anniversary dawned warm and sunny. A soft breeze carried the comforting scents of damp earth and moss as I finished setting out a bowl of berries and happily took in the scene before me.
People milled about Grandmother Oak, the ancient tree at the heart of the village, exchanging hugs and warm greetings while children laughed and played, darting down well-worn paths and climbing trees.
Smoke from cooking fires drifted upward into the oak’s branches, and Elders wrapped in soft hides and adorned with beads laid their palms against the oak’s bark in greeting.
Our village had spent weeks preparing for this celebration with folk from nearby communities attending as well.
Charles and Marion were Village Elders, well known and loved.
“It’ll be a good night for dancing,” Freya noted, placing a bowl of roasted roots beside the berries. “I’ll tell Shamus to get his drums ready.”
“Shamus plays the drums?”
“Aye. I’m partial to the stringed instruments myself.
We’ve been learning from the villagers how to build our own.
Shamus has found that different sizes of hollow logs covered with hides offer deep, earthy beats.
And I’ve just about perfected my root harp.
There’s a plant here that has fibres strong enough to be crafted into strings.
The locals call it Starsilk. At least, that’s the closest translation I can think of. ”
We were all surprised when we realized we could not only understand the language of this world but speak and read it as well.
Another gift from the Yew, we supposed. We found, however, that when we spoke with each other, we still reverted to English.
It was hard to let go of everything familiar all at once.
“Making your own instruments… You two never cease to surprise me,” I said with a smile.
“Don’t think we’ll ever beat the surprise you gave us when you told your story.
Guardians of the stones! I can hardly believe it even if I know it to be true.
” She looked at the spread of food with satisfaction.
“Well, that’s all the help I need for now.
You go on and have some fun. I hear some of the young folk have started organizing a game. ”
“And our team is going to win,” Ava said, joining us and taking a handful of berries. “Kira, please tell me you’ll be on my team! We need someone with your fighting skills.”
“Fighting skills?” I chuckled at my sister-in-law’s exuberance, giving her a warm hug. “I thought it was a friendly game.”
Ava scoffed. “This is war! I’m going to talk to Owen about you joining our team, Kira. I’m sure he’ll be fine with it even if he is overprotective of you. I mean, things can get rough out there, sure, but it’s nothing you can’t handle.”
“Owen is happy we’re together again, but he still finds the memory of us losing each other hard.” As did I. I looked around for him. I’d last seen Owen speaking with his wardens.
“Tell him to lighten up. I’ve spent weeks preparing for this, Kira.
I’m introducing everyone to Ultimate Frisbee, but I’m going to call it Disc Throw.
It was my favourite sport in my other life.
I even carved and polished my own birchwood disc.
It’s going to be epic. Anyways, gotta go, but I’ll see you on the field. Don’t be late!”
I took a sip of my drink, hiding my smile.
Out of all my friends and family who’d heard my story and remembered their other lives, Ava seemed the least affected, taking the news in stride and seizing each day with a renewed energy that surprised even Owen and her parents.
She was a lively and fun sixteen-year-old, and we’d become fast friends since meeting, but her zest for life and ability to bounce from one topic to another still made me dizzy.
“I’ll be there,” I said, but I doubted she heard me as she bounded across the meadow.
“Like a hummingbird, that one.” Freya shook her head, smiling fondly as she walked away.
I looked around the village gathering place, waving and smiling at all my new friends and neighbours.
Even though I had no memories of a life in this world, the villagers seemed to know me, and I had settled seamlessly into the daily life of this community.
Owen and I had exchanged our marriage vows in a quiet ceremony with only our family and friends present, and then we’d made ourselves at home in his cozy house.
He had stepped easily into his role as the village’s chief warden, and I had become a teacher for the younger children.
We had plans to explore the area beyond our village soon, but for the past two months, we had been content to spend our time here with our loved ones and each other.
The Tree Realm was full of surprises, and it seemed like every day I discovered something new, but I especially loved how humans and nature existed together in harmony.
Like the others, I possessed a simple earthborn magic in this world, a magic that helped the natural world around me grow and flourish.
Even better, the dark spot over my heart was gone, and I felt no trace of Craos in my blood.
Over by the oak, I spotted my parents talking to Owen’s as Joan, Shae’s grandmother, joined them, and warmth filled my heart.
Would I ever get used to having them back in my life?
I teared up every time I remembered that I was no longer alone, that I was instead surrounded by family.
Everyone from Charles and Shae to my parents and Owen’s had remembered their lives when I told my story, and now we were all busy settling into our new lives and acclimating to this world.
Would we ever see Earth again? If we did, what would it look like?
I wasn’t sure. But wherever my family was, that’s where I wanted to be. Home.
“You’re not going to believe the night I had,” Shae moaned as she came over to me. I frowned in concern at the dark circles under her eyes. Then my eyebrows rose in shock when I spotted Jace a few feet behind her.
Jace was the only one who couldn’t remember his other life, no matter how many times I told my story.
None of us understood why. He’d kept himself scarce since my return, which troubled all of us, especially Owen.
Jace and Shae had broken up after multiple failed attempts to help him remember what had brought them together.
Shae insisted she had come to accept that they both needed time apart, but her eyes had been filled with sorrow these past two months, and my heart ached for my friend.
“I’ll tell you everything as soon as I have a moment alone,” Shae muttered, rolling her eyes in Jace’s direction.
“It’s for your own protection, Shae,” Jace replied. Now I was really curious. What had happened between these two? “As soon as I know you’re safe, I’ll leave.”
Hurt flashed across Shae’s face a second before she scowled. “I’m not in any danger, Jace. You can leave now.”
“We don’t know that, and until we do, I’m sticking with you.” Jace matched her glare, stepping toward her until they were only a foot apart.
“Jace, my boy! Good to have you back with us!” Charles said as he approached, thankfully interrupting the standoff. “I believe Ava was looking for you, Shae. She said something about a game starting soon and recruiting more players. Besides, I need a moment with Kira, if you don’t mind.”
I mouthed later to my friend as she left, and she gave me an exasperated look over her shoulder when Jace followed. Perhaps Jace was starting to remember, and they were working things out between them. I hoped so. She and Jace had been so close in Neamh. This couldn’t be how their story ended.
“How are you doing, Ms. Kira?” Charles asked.
“Good. Very good.”
“But?”
“Honestly? Some days I can’t believe that all this is real and I got a happy ending.”
“Makes sense. Going to be an adjustment, I suspect. Been difficult for Shamus, Freya, and me, too, getting used to no longer being Guardians and having no magic. Well, no magic besides what everyone else possesses.”
“But I have so many questions! The Yew won’t answer. It hasn’t spoken to me since the day I woke up in this world.”
“I do, too, but then I hug my Marion and thank my lucky stars I found you. We have Sophie and Ava back, and Marion is happier than ever. Honestly, I try not to dwell on my many questions. Enjoy your new life, Ms. Kira. Make the most of it. And tell Owen to stop looking at you like you’re going to disappear any second. You did it. It’s over.”
I smiled. “I will, Charles. Thank you.”
“Thank you, Ms. Kira. Thank you.”
Shouts of “Hey! Not fair!” from young voices behind me had Charles and I turning around to find a group of children starting to argue and tussle.
“Don’t worry,” I said to Charles. “I’ve got this.”
“I know you do.” He gave me a fond smile before leaving to greet more guests.
I clapped my hands to draw the children’s attention.
“Alright, friends,” I called. “Let me tell you a story.” I took a seat on a tree root and waved the children over. They looked at each other, then shrugged and moved toward me, sitting on the ground in a semi-circle.
“What kind of story?” a young girl asked, petting a silver fox-like creature that had settled in her lap. Its ears were larger than its head, its tail long and fluffy. The animals in this world were truly amazing.
“A story about a boy and a girl who have a magical adventure.”
“Is there love?”
Movement caught my eye, and I looked up to see Owen leaning against a tree and crossing his arms as he smiled at me.
“Oh, there’s definitely love,” I answered, smiling back at him.
“Ewww! I hate kissing!” a boy in the back exclaimed.
“What if I told you there was a magic sword and shape shifters and time travel and epic battles between good and evil?”
The children looked confused, and I had to explain some of the words. I was still getting used to what people understood in this world.
“That sounds good,” the boy said after scrunching up his face and thinking about it.
“Is the girl in the story pretty and brave?” another girl asked.
“She’s the bravest, most beautiful woman you’ll ever meet,” Owen said behind the children, and they turned to look at him in surprise.
“The hero is brave, too,” I added. “And dashing. He saves his love more than a few times.”
“Oh, the damsel definitely saves the hero.” He winked at me.
“They save each other,” I said, still looking at Owen. “In every way.”
When I finished my story, the children started to playfight using sticks as swords. One girl raised her hands, pretending to fight a wraith with her magical powers, and the boy who’d said he hated kissing stood bravely in front of a girl while another boy pretended to attack her.
“I think you’ve inspired them,” Owen said, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me toward him.
I hugged him tightly while I thought about everything that had brought us to this moment.
“It’s a good story,” I said.
“It’s certainly my favourite,” he murmured, his lips finding my cheek. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”
“Pretty sure you told me about an hour ago, but I’ll never grow tired of hearing it.”
He drew back to look at me. “I love you, Kira. You’re my wife. My best friend. My other half. You complete my story.”
I closed the distance between us, my lips only a breath from his.
“And you, Owen, are the best decision I ever made.”