Epilogue
Dib had been dead now for two years. Zim had not yet conquered, as would be assumed, and it seemed doubtful that he ever would. Gaz had tried to move on after the brother's passing, but her guilt of taunting him over the years caught up with her, and oftentimes it became unbearable. In seventh grade she overheard eighth graders talking about Dib as being unusual, stupid, crazy - things she might have said about him two years before. Now it infuriated her, and the worse part was the fact that she knew at one point she had said those things. It was only now that she felt the same pain.
Another thing brought upon by the incident was that Gaz found herself even more distant from her father. After all, had he saved Vennita, Dib would still be there. Sometimes she wished that she had had the disease too, so that she wouldn't be alone. No friends, no real family - it was now that Gaz realized that she had always longed for companionship between her and her brother. Only in her dreams would this ever come true. Memories of days she could've spent listening and caring about Dib long gone and coming back to haunt her was a frequently recurring incident.
Before, Gaz had tried to convince herself that his death was due to his own foolishness and becoming blind to love. It was only later that she realized that if she had shown some fondness toward him, he wouldn't have felt so compelled to compromise for a non-existent loving family. But not now. Gaz cared now. If only she'd realized that two years ago. Professor Membrane had shown no remorse concerning Dib's fatal outcome, and his room was left the way it was without a single change.
Now, whenever she felt troubled in any part of her life, Dib's room served as her refuge from the outside world. Once she picked up one of Dib's UFO magazines and flipped through it. At first she was hesitant, almost afraid, to touch things he had once touched. It left the room engulfed in a ghostly aura, and actually petrified her beyond anything else she had ever experienced. After several times of entering, however, it gave her comfort, and it seemed as if he was alive again.
It was one night when Gaz was feeling forlorn that she wandered into Dib's room and lingered in it. Recently she had adopted it as her own, for she rarely spent any time in her old room. She had fallen asleep in his bed, which gave her a special connection with her brother, as he had died at that very spot and slept there a many times before.
When she awoke she located Dib's computer. It had countless files, most of which depicted discoveries about Zim. Subsequent to this, she opened a previously deleted video which featured Dib speaking, labeled 'Confession.' Out of pure curiosity, she played it and heard what he had recorded:
"If you're listening to this, I must be dead. I am tired of people ostracizing me for no reason. I have to tell you some things. I love you, Gaz, and Dad, why didn't you ever pay any attention to Gaz or me? I wish...I wish you could've been there. Maybe I would still be on Earth if you were. I wouldn't be so lonely. Vennita, my best friend whom I've fallen in love with, is dying, and I'm going to catch her disease so I can die too. After all, no one's ever cared about me. Why should when my life ends concern anyone else? I know I'm letting the Earth down, and I deserve to rot for it. I'm so sorry. I just can't stand my life."
Gaz cried, and watched it over and over. She didn't have many pictures of Dib, and this was the only video she knew of. Closing her eyes, she envisioned that she was holding his hand, and she saw him with that ambitious and optimistic look he got so often. Five words echoed in her mind that he had asked so often before: "Will you help me, Gaz?"
It was all too much to bear. Dib was always optimistic, whether about capturing Zim or faith in humanity. Seeing that video showed how tormented inside he really was and it deeply disturbed Gaz to see her brother like that. What was worse was that he always had a heightened hope toward her in particular. Always trying to get her to help. 'If only I had helped him...'
Whenever lonely she would look up at the stars and the moon, and remember back when they were back in the fifth and sixth grade and Dib had told her of his dream to visit them someday, in search of life. A dream that would never be fulfilled.
One day, when she was looking into the sky, she heard the voice of someone behind her. "What are you doing?"
"I'm looking for Dib, my lost brother. He always could be found in the stars."
"I'm not an expert yet, but that's not where you'll find him. He might be a lot closer than you think." Gaz turned her head around.
"Dib...?"
"Yes." Gaz swung herself around the bench to embrace her lost loved one, but found that she was alone again. She had imagined seeing him. Still, in her head she heard a voice, one that belonged to Dib. It said, "I'm never truly gone, so long as I'm in your heart."
"You are in my heart, Dib. Always, and forever." She glanced at the photograph of them that she had subconsciously removed from inside her new windbreaker and kissed it.
There's the sad, but beautiful and sweet, ending to my tale. The tale of a lost boy who wanted nothing more than the small little affection that can be said in three words, but will last a lifetime:
"I love you."
Dib had been dead now for two years. Zim had not yet conquered, as would be assumed, and it seemed doubtful that he ever would. Gaz had tried to move on after the brother's passing, but her guilt of taunting him over the years caught up with her, and oftentimes it became unbearable. In seventh grade she overheard eighth graders talking about Dib as being unusual, stupid, crazy - things she might have said about him two years before. Now it infuriated her, and the worse part was the fact that she knew at one point she had said those things. It was only now that she felt the same pain.
Another thing brought upon by the incident was that Gaz found herself even more distant from her father. After all, had he saved Vennita, Dib would still be there. Sometimes she wished that she had had the disease too, so that she wouldn't be alone. No friends, no real family - it was now that Gaz realized that she had always longed for companionship between her and her brother. Only in her dreams would this ever come true. Memories of days she could've spent listening and caring about Dib long gone and coming back to haunt her was a frequently recurring incident.
Before, Gaz had tried to convince herself that his death was due to his own foolishness and becoming blind to love. It was only later that she realized that if she had shown some fondness toward him, he wouldn't have felt so compelled to compromise for a non-existent loving family. But not now. Gaz cared now. If only she'd realized that two years ago. Professor Membrane had shown no remorse concerning Dib's fatal outcome, and his room was left the way it was without a single change.
Now, whenever she felt troubled in any part of her life, Dib's room served as her refuge from the outside world. Once she picked up one of Dib's UFO magazines and flipped through it. At first she was hesitant, almost afraid, to touch things he had once touched. It left the room engulfed in a ghostly aura, and actually petrified her beyond anything else she had ever experienced. After several times of entering, however, it gave her comfort, and it seemed as if he was alive again.
It was one night when Gaz was feeling forlorn that she wandered into Dib's room and lingered in it. Recently she had adopted it as her own, for she rarely spent any time in her old room. She had fallen asleep in his bed, which gave her a special connection with her brother, as he had died at that very spot and slept there a many times before.
When she awoke she located Dib's computer. It had countless files, most of which depicted discoveries about Zim. Subsequent to this, she opened a previously deleted video which featured Dib speaking, labeled 'Confession.' Out of pure curiosity, she played it and heard what he had recorded:
"If you're listening to this, I must be dead. I am tired of people ostracizing me for no reason. I have to tell you some things. I love you, Gaz, and Dad, why didn't you ever pay any attention to Gaz or me? I wish...I wish you could've been there. Maybe I would still be on Earth if you were. I wouldn't be so lonely. Vennita, my best friend whom I've fallen in love with, is dying, and I'm going to catch her disease so I can die too. After all, no one's ever cared about me. Why should when my life ends concern anyone else? I know I'm letting the Earth down, and I deserve to rot for it. I'm so sorry. I just can't stand my life."
Gaz cried, and watched it over and over. She didn't have many pictures of Dib, and this was the only video she knew of. Closing her eyes, she envisioned that she was holding his hand, and she saw him with that ambitious and optimistic look he got so often. Five words echoed in her mind that he had asked so often before: "Will you help me, Gaz?"
It was all too much to bear. Dib was always optimistic, whether about capturing Zim or faith in humanity. Seeing that video showed how tormented inside he really was and it deeply disturbed Gaz to see her brother like that. What was worse was that he always had a heightened hope toward her in particular. Always trying to get her to help. 'If only I had helped him...'
Whenever lonely she would look up at the stars and the moon, and remember back when they were back in the fifth and sixth grade and Dib had told her of his dream to visit them someday, in search of life. A dream that would never be fulfilled.
One day, when she was looking into the sky, she heard the voice of someone behind her. "What are you doing?"
"I'm looking for Dib, my lost brother. He always could be found in the stars."
"I'm not an expert yet, but that's not where you'll find him. He might be a lot closer than you think." Gaz turned her head around.
"Dib...?"
"Yes." Gaz swung herself around the bench to embrace her lost loved one, but found that she was alone again. She had imagined seeing him. Still, in her head she heard a voice, one that belonged to Dib. It said, "I'm never truly gone, so long as I'm in your heart."
"You are in my heart, Dib. Always, and forever." She glanced at the photograph of them that she had subconsciously removed from inside her new windbreaker and kissed it.
There's the sad, but beautiful and sweet, ending to my tale. The tale of a lost boy who wanted nothing more than the small little affection that can be said in three words, but will last a lifetime:
"I love you."