Liz Parker Evans' Journal

Date: May, 14, 2022

Dear Alex,

"Today is the first day of the rest of your life." It's something you'd expect to hear at a high school graduation, but I never heard that at mine. It's a phrase meant to convey optimism and show a world of possibilities in front of you. So my husband couldn't say anything like that in the unplanned speech he gave at graduation. We didn't feel optimistic that day. Instead, we needed to think about escape and survival. We left Roswell, not knowing if we ever could or ever would go back.

It's been 10 months since the day Zan used the memory crystals and returned to Antar with Larek, the Granolith and a defeated Kivar. On that day, I could've told you our lives would change going forward, but I don't think any of us realized at the time how truly transformative the events of that day would prove to be.

First, I'll address any potentially lingering problems. We haven't made any further contact with Agent Samuelson or anyone from the Special Unit. However they're doing it, the Special Unit and the government appears to have Kivar's ship well-contained. Agent Samuelson did keep his promise regarding Kyle, thankfully. About a week after Zan left, Kyle and Carmen returned to Roswell to visit Jim Valenti and the rest of us and to celebrate Carmen's safe return.

Max and I decided to stay in Roswell for good. We both relished the chance to stop the constant moving and return to the only stable home either of us ever knew.

Michael and Maria sold their house in Flagstaff and moved back to Roswell too.

Isabel and Jesse didn't want to uproot their family and continue to live in Suncook, but we're able to talk all the time and visit one another every month or so. Max and I love having a relationship with their girls.

Kyle and Carmen also chose to stay in North Carolina, but again we talk with them regularly. It still makes me nervous sometimes to use a regular cell phone, but I'm adjusting to the notion that it's finally safe to do so.

Ava also considered settling down in Roswell, but she left after a few weeks to try to find her own path and purpose in life. Max and I tried to persuade her to stay as she continued to work through her grief. Michael made the greatest appeal, and the two of them formed a pretty close, yet unlikely, friendship.

Serena felt the pull to put her investigative skills to good use. Kyle and Carmen used their police connections to help her enroll at the local police academy in Greensboro, and she's well on her way to becoming a police detective. Jim Valenti offered her the same opportunity in Roswell, but she told us that while she'll be forever grateful for Max healing her, she didn't want to live the rest of her life feeling like she was trapped in a science fiction novel. Kyle told her he knew exactly how she felt.

Speaking of Jim—it's still kind of weird to just call him Jim, but that's what he wants now. He's not looking to retire or leave Roswell, even though he considered doing both and moving near Kyle and Carmen. Selfishly, I don't mind because it's like having more family nearby and another parent figure.

Something Max did say in his high school graduation speech is that "I have to be who I really am." While we gladly gave up the road warrior life, Max didn't want to stop helping people. Jesse managed to use his connections to setup a non-profit healing foundation for kids with terminal diseases or life-threatening injuries. Every day, a child is transported to the UNM Children's Hospital in Albuquerque. Max wakes up before sunrise, makes the three hour drive there to do a healing and then drives back to Roswell in time for lunch. Parents or caregivers aren't permitted to witness the "procedure," and there's a strict non-disclosure agreement that prevents any unwanted attention. This allows Max to pursue his passion for using his gifts to help people and make the world a better place.

Maria and I help select patients for Max to heal and take care of some of the administrative work for the foundation. It means so much to me to work so closely with my best friend. The four years after Maria and Michael left the road to settle down in Flagstaff were the hardest years for Max and I.

Michael craved something more conventional for his job, and my dad's been training him to be the Manager of the Crashdown Café, as he steps back from the day-to-day. It's kind of weird to see them getting along so well, but Maria loves it.

Life in Roswell today is what you'd expect from a typical small town. There isn't a lot of crime, which means I'm not really having visions anymore. It's honestly kind of a relief, and it also feels blissful to go more than a couple of weeks without seeing some kind of horrific prediction. Maria doesn't activate her fog-generating powers, either. She says it serves no practical purpose in our lives here. That's true, but I suspect it still kind of freaks her out, too. Jim avoids teleporting because of how much it drains him physically. Max and Michael are very cautious about using their powers. They don't want to attract any unwanted attention, so aside from Max's healing for the foundation, they're very mindful not using them in public and around company that doesn't know about them.

As I settle into a life no longer overshadowed by alien burdens and reconnect with loved ones, I started thinking more and more about you, Alex. The one tragedy from all of this that we can never make right is your death at such a young age. It's why I'm starting this journal and will write to you often. It'll help me feel like I'm getting you back in my life too.

Before I ever knew Max Evans, I used to dream of leaving Roswell for a bigger city with more excitement. But after living what I've been through, I realize I never truly wanted any of that at all. I'm just a simple girl from Roswell. Returning back home after all these years, there's no place I'd rather be. I know, Alex, I know, this is where you'd be telling me how cheesy that sounds. Maybe it is, but I don't care. My experiences have given me an appreciation for the simple joys in life: a kiss from Max, a laugh with Maria, a drawing from one of Isabel's daughters arriving in the mail, some unsolicited safety advice from Jim Valenti or even just walking from the grocery store to my car without that sixth sense telling me I better look over my shoulder to see if a suspicious figure is watching.

Getting to settle down after living on the run for so long, I realize now that I never quite had the time to fully develop into who I'm supposed to be. It was a life defined by escaping my nightmares instead of pursuing my dreams. Family. Friends. Home. Safety. They sound like such simple things, almost lacking ambition, but it's all I need to be that simple girl from Roswell again. And that's who I want to be.

I'm Liz Parker Evans, and for the first time in a long time, my life feels normal. And I've never been happier!