Just a heads up, if you clicked the little arrow to go to the latest chapter, it brought you to the afterword. You probably want to read the epilogue first, so go ahead and go back a chapter to read it :)

First of all, I want to thank you for reading Checklist, and if you enjoyed it I want to give you an even bigger thanks. I've had a lot of fun writing this story. It's bittersweet to see it end.

I began writing this story last February. It's been over a year now, and I feel it's worth noting that I have changed a lot over this year.

It's pretty obvious that I my stories often reflect my feelings, especially my more recent ones, and Checklist has been no exception. In fact, I believe this has to be the most reflective of them. This is because the past year has been rough for me, and there have been times when I have not been in the best place. It was during these moments when I managed to find the strength to manifest it into Sofie.

When I first began this story, Sofie was simply supposed to be evil, wishing only to cause havoc in their lives. Then, as I began to grow more and more frustrated with my own mind, I began to wonder what would be going through Sofie's. Why is she evil? Is she even evil at all?

The answer was simple. She is not evil. There most certainly are people who are born completely evil, who murder with no remorse, but Sofie isn't one of them.

She was once a sweet girl, but the horror of having her father, friends, and home ripped away from her very violently took that innocence and stability away from her. Her PTSD from that event then manifests itself into something along the lines of schizophrenia, in which she feels the world is against her. She feels lonely and feels she can trust no one. Her schizophrenia is leads her to create this idea that the "evil" lives within the royal line, and it is most certainly out to get her. Sofie does not want to be evil. She only knows she needs to survive another day.

All of this is Sofie's mind screaming endlessly at her. It's all in her mind, something she couldn't control any longer. Unfortunately, at this time, approximately the mid 1800's, mental illness was far from understood, and she is left to struggle alone.

But then Philip comes along, and we see Sofie is not evil. Through Philip's somewhat relatable story about his father, he is able to gain Sofie's trust. We then see her open up, just a bit, and we see that despite what her mind tells her to do, her heart is sweet and only wishes to stop. She did not wish to complete the checklist her mind created for her.

Now, what of Ariel and Eric? You probably feel as though I stopped paying attention to their storyline halfway throughout the story. Well, you're right. I didn't mean to, but when you feel miserable, you don't want to write a fluffy chapter about a cute couple. You only want to write about dark, attempted murders, miscarriages, and taking things away from people to ruin their lives because you can't do that in real life so you might as well do it in a fantasy world.

Our couple's storyline was supposed to be about breaking free of the stereotypical "you have to this, this, and this" in life and just live a little. The challenges they faced were supposed to make them realize this.

I hope I did good enough for you all to realize this. In the future, I do plan on editing this story to bring it to its full potential and really bring everything in full. Though I am really happy with this, I'll admit, there are some parts, even with the Sofie scenes, that could use some more attention.

Now, I don't want to spend this time going on and on about the things I should have done, but rather I want to make sure the message of this story is clear.

In no way do I want anyone to believe that "it's always the quiet ones" who cause the trouble. The kid you see sit alone at lunch probably just wants some peace and quiet and isn't plotting anything. Instead, I want you to know that things aren't always as they appear. You really don't know what's going on in someone's life.

There's a reason Sofie is more comfortable with Philip than Ariel. Yes, Ariel is kind to Sofie and more than generous, but she never picks up on the little things. She assumes giving Sofie the promotion and the gowns and the necklace and money meant she has nothing to worry about. But people with everything can grow depressed and commit suicide, too. Sometimes, the artificial things never matter at all.

Philip, on the other hand, is able to see the small things going on. He never assumes Sofie has a perfect life. Rather, he checks up on her to make sure she is making it through the rough things in her life. He lets her express her feelings without any backlash.

I think we can all agree Ariel is a little ambitious and a little overbearing. Though not her intention, I think her positive outlook and bubbliness might scare off a lonely person. When talking to someone depressed, you can't force them to be happy. Instead, as mean as it sounds, you need to let them suffer for a while; let them express their negative feelings, while keeping a close eye on them, like Philip. You can explain to them how one day things might get better, but too much positivity at once isn't always the best. I know sometimes too much of it doesn't help me. It only makes me feel worse.

But I guess in the end, Ariel is the wife of the son of the man who killed her father, and Sofie can never trust her. Sofie never did like Ariel, or, at least, her schizophrenia didn't like her.

I guess I'll leave you with this stereotypical message: be kind. An act of kindness can go a long way. It's the least you can do. It's what Ariel could manage to do in the end. Be aware that someone might be grumpy and down, not because they want to, but because they had a bad day or there's something going on behind closed doors. Be nice to them. It's all we can do as humans.

-Blue