The Final Goodbye by Korrie

The Final Goodbye
by Taranda (princesstaranda@yahoo.com)

The first days, most who have been separated from close friends will agree, are the worst. But Lyra's loneliness never seemed to subside. She missed all of her friends of the other world, like Dr. Malone, but she missed Will most of all. The murderer who she knew that she could trust. The friend who was always willing to help her. And though she often found herself sitting in that one place in the park at the arranged times, as well as those that were not, she hated to admit that never would she meet Will again.

And because of it, she had met a rather handsome young man named Gregory. Gregory was not only handsome, but also smart and rational. He would have likely been a scholar had he the money to attend the college, but seeing as the money was nonexistent, he was forced to work as the assistant to a rich man. And one day, he found himself walking through the park where he saw Lyra sitting.

It was not one of the arranged days, but Lyra loved to sit there, knowing that the same place existed in a separate universe. As did much of her own beloved Oxford, she reminded herself. And she saw Gregory approach her timidly, asking her if she would mind her joining her.

"Oh, no," Lyra moved to make room.

"Do you sit here often?" Gregory asked, though the two had not yet exchanged names.

"Yes," Lyra said then. "It's an arrangement I have made with a rather distant friend. To just sit here, I mean."

Gregory, in a state of confusion, asked, "Are you waiting for someone?"

"Oh, no," Lyra said again. "I was just enjoying the serenity of the spaces."

The two began to talk and meet each other at the same time of each day, where they would simply sit and talk, or walk around the city, enjoying the afternoon sun. And, before either could hardly believe, the two were to be married. And on Lyra's wedding day, she sat at her bench in the park, contemplating the promise she would be making before nightfall.

Little did she know of the boy in the other universe who was sitting there as well.

Will had made another trip into the city. His mother was still mentally incapable of living by herself, so he often stayed with her. And like Lyra, though he still had family of his own, he was lonely. Taking his trips into Oxford were times to escape the worries of his daily life.

But this time, he was not traveling by himself. With him was a lovely girl of the same age, named Leila.

Leila was kindly and welcoming, and he had met her a few years after his return to his own world. She knew that something solitary troubled Will, but also respected him enough to let him cope with the matter privately, just as he had wished. So when she went to Oxford with Will that one time, she understood that it was part of a finality he did not want to accept, but was nonetheless forced to take silently.

And on that bench, both Will and Lyra promised the other, unknowing that their old friend was there with them, that they still loved each other, but had to move on.

And never again did Lyra or Will find a reason to sit on that bench in the park.

*finis*

I do hope that you will be able to understand this, the His Dark Materials story that I have wanted to write. Please review, as reviews keep me happy! Always, Taranda