A Little Side Adventure
Epilogue: Just to Say Goodbye
By Shelli-Jo Pelletier
(ussfantasy@hotmail.com)
***************
Several months later. . . .
"Sarah, get down from there!"
The blonde girl laughed, a high and happy sound. With a little twirl she leaped down from the railing of the bridge she had been balancing on and landed lightly beside the blond boy who had spoken.
"Lighten up, Tony. It's such a nice day in Japan!" She beamed at him, her light green eyes sparkling. And it was true. The sun brightly shone, reflecting off the ribbon of water below the bridge, and a cool breeze blew through the green trees of the park. It was a great day to be alive.
Tony was not impressed. He snorted and rolled his blue eyes, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "Aren't you going to ask if I spotted anyone?" he asked pointedly.
Her grin got even wider. Excitedly, he grabbed a hold of his yellow T-shirt. "Tell me, Tok! Tell me!"
"Shhhhh! Don't use that name! Some human might hear!"
With a snort of her own, she gave her brother a playful shove. "Whatever, Tony. Tell me!"
Finally, he smiled. "I'll show you instead. Come on." The boy grabbed her hand. Together they dashed over the bridge, dodging through the trees of the park. Tony led her down a sloping path that wound down a hill, then yanked her to a halt. "Before we get there, I should tell you something." His smile was gone.
"What? Tell me what? Where are they?" She shot out the questions impatiently.
"Well, they're at the picnic table area, but—"
Sarah's eyes lit up. She knew where that was! They had been searching Odiba, Japan for hours, and it was almost time to go back. But she wasn't leaving without seeing them, not when they were so close! Without waiting for Tony to finish what he was saying, she shot off.
"Sarah!" he cried, then bolted after her when she didn't pause. He followed the flash of the sun on her long golden hair as she left the path and zipped through the trees. He caught up with her as she topped a small rise and pulled up short. Panting, the boy leaned against a tree to catch his breath.
Sarah stared down the grassy slope with wide eyes, her face a mask of shock. At the base of the hill was a small paved area dotted with picnic tables, a few with umbrellas. Clustered around one of the tables were seven . . . no, eight young humans.
She would have recognized them anywhere. There was Matt, leaning on one end with an elbow. Izzy sat with his back propped against the table's edge, tapping away at his ever-present laptop. Mimi was doing her nails. The one person she didn't know was a small brown-haired girl, leaning against Tai's shoulder. But what struck the girl wasn't that they were there, it was the expressions on their faces. And the fact that no one was talking, or even really looking at each other. They just sat there.
"They're. . . ."
"Miserable," Tony finished, peering down at the cemented area. They were too far away to be heard, and the wind was blowing in the wrong direction anyway.
"Where are the Digimon?" Sarah asked, sitting down on a raised root of the tree they stood next to. Her brother turned his head and gave her a stare. "Oh no," she breathed.
They were quiet for a moment, watching their human friends down below. Suddenly Sarah's face hardened and she stood up. "I'm going to go talk with them," she announced. "Just to say goodbye."
Before she could move he grabbed her wrist. "Are you crazy? Brett would kill us. We're only allowed to see them, make sure they're okay. And bad enough if Dad finds out Brett let us come here, if he finds out we talked to them we won't be able to leave home ever again."
"I don't care," she snapped. "I never got to say goodbye, and that's what I'm going to do."
He sighed. "Sarah, they won't recognize you. They won't remember you."
"Then I'll remind them!"
"They won't believe you!" he shot back, annoyed now. It occurred to him that he was more annoyed with himself, for not having the guts to do what his sister was about to do. But he also knew what he was saying was true.
Footsteps, behind them, loud in the silence after his outburst. They turned as one to find an old, clean-shaven man with a full head of snow-white hair. He leaned on a cane for support, though his sharp green eyes were clear and intelligent. "It's time for us to go, young ones," he said softly.
Sarah didn't move as Tony went to stand with the old man. "Brett, can't we just go down there for a minute? Just for a second. Just to say goodbye. No one has to know! Please?"
The man shook his head. His green eyes were sorrowful. "I'm sorry, child. You would only alarm them. They have no memories of you." He paused, searching her face with his deep eyes, then turned and slowly shuffled away. Tony looked about to say something, but a curt cough from Brett sent him trotting after the old man.
The blonde girl with sad green eyes took one last look at the group gathered below. They had to their friends behind when they returned to their world, to their lives. Just as she did. They won't remember you. Her brother's words echoed in her ears.
"I'll remember," whispered the lone girl. Her breath caught in her throat and she brushed the wetness from her eyes. "I'll always remember." Then, before she did something she regretted, the girl turned and dashed to follow her brother and her teacher. In a moment the hill was empty.