The year after that folly, the Neikus brothers took a five-day trip to the city of New York. They took tons of photos they showed to their grandparents, who were eager to hear their adventures, bought souvenirs for everyone they knew (on a budget, of course), visited everything they could in so little time, ate lots of junk food. And, also, they got a tattoo done, maybe in a place their mother would not have approved, seeing how scary the workers looked, but worked efficiently. They returned home with a mark in their wrists—only it was not the one they had planned. During that insufferably long flight, Raivis designed a different one. Three horizontal stripes, representing the three of them, the one on the top being darker in Toris' case, the second for Eduard and the bottom one for Raivis. And three words surrounding them: «Visada», «Vienmēr», «Alati»...«Always».

Three years later, Toris graduated from college and was lucky to find a good job which would allow him to save money. When he got a stable one as an English teacher, he moved out from his parents house with Vika. Although everyone expected Eduard to go to college too, he found his own way to get the job he wanted: computer technician—something, in that digital era, was always demanded. Raivis had it a bit difficult, but got not to fail any subject and graduated with honors, something his parents rewarded him buying him a car.

It was around this time when Toris and Vika announced their wedding, which took place eight months later, in summer. Ivan Braginsky was among the guests.

One year later, Vika announced her pregnancy. Olympia went completely crazy and watched the expecting mother like a hawk, gave him tons of unsolicited advice. It made Toris very nervous sometimes, but he let her do, because he knew this was very important for her. Nine months later, a baby girl was born, which they named Polly.

Polly was seven months old when Raivis and Tonya realized they liked each other, but being a couple was going too far. Thanks to his neighbor's advice, he got the courage to end the relationship. Of course, in good terms, because the time he had spent with Tonya had been great and she had made him so happy. It was at work, in one of the subsidiaries of the World Library, where he met Arya, who also came to work there. Vika was pregnant with her second child when Raivis decided to ask Arya the big question—and she said yes, he would write to his friend Peter!

When the boy showed up at the wedding, accompanied by his faux parents and brother, he did not recognize at first the man who was saying yes at the altar. When that person with long hair, strong jaw, considerable height and deep voice smiled at him and told him he was Raivis, he didn't really believe him. His mother Tina, nor his father Bernwald recognized anyone in that party, even thought they were recognized. Ivan had been invited to the wedding too, but suddenly disappeared and when he was asked about this days later, he simply said 'he had stomach ache and had to leave'.

Two years later, Polly and Ona had a cousin to adore: little Agnes, the first of the three daughters Raivis and Arya would have in a row. Something his father told him he shouldn't have done—he knew from experience! But Raivis didn't care about the work three small girls implied, he was delighted. And his mother was too, surrounded by grandchildren to spoil!

After Polly and Ona came Darius, and Eduard had assumed he was the single uncle when, suddenly, Mona came into his life, when he bought a second-hand book about birds. He had never been interested in anyone until he saw her, and couldn't stop thinking about her...But he was so shy Mona had to be the one taking the initiative! It was said during their wedding that she was the one who proposed, something Eduard denied categorically. The following year, his twins Matis and Finn were born, and from that moment Eduard understood what his mother meant when she said that he would understand certain things when he became a parent. Filip, Toris' youngest son, completed the family.

Although they lived apart, Toris, Eduard and Raivis lived close enough to see each other frequently. Their children grew up like a group of friends, but it was evident that the ones who most enjoyed those family gatherings were them. They already talked a lot through the phone!, their children and wives complained, why did they talk so much?

It was around the time when Polly went to college when their father Tomas died because of a sudden heart attack. Unable to live alone, Olympia came to live with Eduard and his family, until she died because of a lung infection thirteen years later. The death of their parents brought the brothers together once more. Together, they took care of the family house, preparing them before selling it, and visited their old friend Ivan.

He had aged with the Neikus thanks to his makeup tricks, but according to his identity files, he was now 92 years old, and he guessed his time had to come. They would still be in touch, he said to his three neighbors, as they had been doing ever since they moved out from their parents' house. His name was now Sergei Gálikov and would move to Lisbon, with a different appearance, to start again as a twenty year old engineer. The Neikus wished him good luck and reminded him that they would be there if he ever needed him.

The three of them also had to age. Most of their energy was gone, they had plenty of time in hands to travel and do all things work prevented them from doing but most of the time all they wanted was just to sit on a bench and see others have fun. Their little grandchildren (six for Toris and four for Eduard and Raivis) rocked their world enough.

Raivis kept sending Sealand postcards, photos of his family and the places he had visited, little things he did himself. Until it all suddenly stopped.

One day that Sealand was wondering if his friend had forgotten about him, he saw his reflection in the mirror and it hit him why his faux parents were looking at him in such a weird manner sometimes, why he saw Ladonia was looking so strange to him, he couldn't precise why. He had gotten so tall himself he was as tall as his mom, and when he spoke, his voice cracked.

Toris died at some moment at night, while he was sleeping, at the age of 89.

When Mona returned to the living room with a cup of coffee in hand, Eduard had his head down and didn't react to her calls, two months before his 92nd birthday.

Raivis was taken to the hospital due to something in his lungs being found during a common medical exam and didn't get there. He was 90.

The three of them were buried in the same place, in their family's grave.

They managed to spend eternity together, Russia thought, when he placed three sunflowers, one for each of them, on the tombstone.

Showing the white roots in his dark hair, he smiled.

"Look, boys! I'm dying too! My clock is finally working, after thousands of years! I have been waiting for this moment for so long...We are going to meet again! Somewhere where the past does not matter, where there is no future to worry about, where we can be ourselves and we don't have to hide; no more secrets! We will be friends and be happy forever and ever!"

THE END