Epilogue
Time moves in one direction, memory in another - William Gibson
Weeks passed. It was one of those ever occurring cold Sunday mornings that caused Bryan Lessing to miss Joelle in a manner that made him feel incomplete. He knew there was only one way of making this condition of torture disappear. He had to see her. To visit her. Marching in the thick snow already gave him the certainty of having her by his side. Quite ironic, now that he thought of it, to be reminded of warm Joelle whilst walking through the cold. Bryan inhaled deeply. Blinded by the wish to be closer to her he forgot to bring flowers. Those weren't the only things he forgot. Looking back there were so many things left unsaid, so many words that he did not dare to speak. He could speak them now of course, all she could do was listen. She could not respond. Bryan rubbed a hand through his hair as he walked over through the fields to the black fenced cemetery, his heart beat slowing down and speeding up, he gulped and made his way further ahead, his hands in his pockets. He looked up to the sky while inhaling deeply, as if he could find Joelle staring down to him. He kept his eyes up there for some time, but stopped in front of a tombstone that he just did not dare to look at. He did not dare.
He knew what the tombstone looked like of course. He has seen it many times. He had ordered it back then. It was a snow white stone angel, a tall female statue, holding a marbled plaque that read:
- Joelle Colle 01.10. 1921 - 23.11.1946
And unborn.
"In memory of a woman that could find summer in the coldest of winters. In memory of her unborn child, gone before experiencing its mother's full warmth."
This was exactly how Bryan wanted to remember Joelle. Full of warmth. And even though he was busy fighting the tears, he knew that Joelle would have never wanted him to cry any. Not because it was over. Not because she was gone. It hurt.
"You have left too early..." Bryan whispered, finally daring to look at the angel tombstone. His eyes widened.
Unbelievable.
Draped gently around the stony winged woman's neck, Bryan saw something that forced the tears back into his eyes.
A black scarf.
Story complete.
Thanks so much for reading.
The first thing I want to say is: I am sorry. This story was never meant to be a romance novel. The ending I have chosen was the only ending I found working to stay true to myself and to the story. I loved it so much that destroying it was the only right thing to do. Anything else would have been wrong in my eyes. Releasing the final chapter was tough - Joelle and Tom were dear to me. But I wanted Tom Riddle, Lord Voldemort, to have a story. My story is a suggestion to explain why he has become what he became, it was my concept from the very beginning.
Some questions have reached me. If you have any, go ahead and ask. There will be a FAQ chapter released on March 2nd, 2017.
