XX.

Plenty of years later, after a loving and passionate life, Erik died, leaving Malika and his children and grandchildren. He had seen his daughters and sons wed, seen his sons and some of his daughters graduate college, and happily been proud of everything that his family had accomplished. They had seen Linka and Jacques bear two children, a boy and girl, and Lukcas and John had become partners and moved to India so that Lukcas could work with the animals there and John could study the architecture.

However, two years after Erik's death, Malika languished. She loved her family. But she ached...she ached to be with her husband. She felt so selfish because of this. She felt so selfish to want to join her husband, but her heart was aching, and she was sure that her brother and sister saw that. Lukcas and John had moved back for a while to watch Malika. They had been very worried after seeing her start to get worse.

Malika looked at the gardens as she felt a small breeze across her cheek. She rocked back and forth in her chair while watching the swaying flowers and bushes in the gardens. They were so beautiful. She heard the creaking of the floor. She could guess that her brother or sister or both were approaching. "Malika?" Linka questioned as she walked up to stand next to her sister.

Lukcas walked up and stood on the other side and asked, "Are you alright?"

"You called us."

"Yes. I called you because I needed to discuss some things with you. I have a feeling that I will be leaving you soon."

The two siblings looked at each other then looked back towards their sister. "No sister. Don't you even think about that. You still have plenty of years ahead of you." Linka told her as she grasped her hand. Lukcas grabbed two chairs and brought them to sit in front of their sister. The twins sat down and looked Malika in the eyes.

"I wish I could say that, but I'm not so sure anymore. Ever since Erik left me the life in me has seemed to dwindle. Erik was my second half. It's not that I don't love my children or grandchildren. It's not that I don't love you two as well. I feel that I can't live without him. I miss his laughter, his love, and everything about him...one day you will understand as well."

Lukcas took his sister's hand in his own hands. "You don't know when you will die. Only God decides that."

"I am being selfish, but I want to be with Erik. My heart is broken." Tears fell down her cheeks. She reached up and wiped them away with the left sleeve of her dress. Both siblings could see how much pain their older sister was in. "However, that is not what I wanted to talk to you about necessarily. I wanted to let you know that when I die you two and the rest of our family have dowries hidden away in the secret vault beneath the mansion. These will take care of the mansion and the children and grandchildren. There are also the many jewels that Erik purchased and some of his plans that you can sell if you need to."

Linka looked her in shock. "I didn't know about any vault!"

"Me neither."

"He had to keep it hidden from everyone and work on it during the night. You can access it by the family portrait with the seven of us. There is a combination though."

"What is it?" Lukcas asked.

"Think about it." Malika teased him. "What were our ages?"

"Oh. 18, 13, and 13?" Linka questioned.

"Yes. You will go down a flight of steps and the vault will be in front of you. You will use that combination to get in when the time is right."

They looked at her sadly. "Sister, I don't want to think of you dying. You've been everything to us." Linka leaned forward and hugged Malika tightly.

"You shouldn't think about dying." Lukcas added.

"I know, but I want to as selfish as it is. I miss Erik. Besides, we all die one of these days."

Lukcas and Linka nodded then looked at their sister knowing somehow that they would lose her soon and that there would be no way to stop it.

xxxx

Several months later

White fog surrounded her, all except from beneath her feet. Below she could see her earthly body and so many of her loved ones gathered around her. They were crying and she felt so bad that she could not stay with them anymore. How she loved being with them and taking part in their successes and just showing them their love. However, God had decided to take her finally and she was happy with his decision. She knew she would see her loved ones someday, but they needed to live their lives. It was only temporary.

The fog covered beneath her feet finally and she looked around. Where was she? Where was she to go? In the distance she thought she saw a figure. She began to walk towards it. "Hello? Is there anyone there?" She asked. The figure came closer and she could make it out better. Was it? Is it? She continued walked toward it then found herself staring straight at her husband. The fog dissipated completely, and they saw each other for the first time since his last moments. "Erik..."

"Hello my love." He replied with a smile.

She launched herself into his arms and dug her face into his chest. "I have missed you so much!"

"I know. I watched how you became so unhappy. You didn't recover after my death. I know you tried to, but nothing was the same."

Tears fell down her cheeks. "Oh Erik, I couldn't live without you." She took in his visage. He wore a loose-fitting white shirt with light grey pants and no shoes. His hair was black as it always had been, and his face was still the same and that was something she was glad for. He wore no mask and she was glad for that as well. She looked at herself as well and found that she wore a long white gown.

"Are you happy?" He asked her.

"This is the happiest I have ever been." Malika replied then kissed him fully on the lips. She felt him push back as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him.

He pulled back after a moment then said, "And to think we'll have eternity for this."

She smiled then responded happily, "Eternity." He pulled her back in for a kiss. The fog covered them in a thick cloud and suddenly the two had disappeared, off somewhere to live in their happiness beyond Earth.

Author's Note: Well that is the last chapter. I hope you like it. This was particularly hard to write. However, I hope this is a good ending. I am planning to make a rewrite of Ange de Musique. So if you have read that please look for that to come out in the future. If not still look out for it. It has a totally different plot line. Thanks for reading!