A week after Leslie's dad had given him the notebook, Jess was to be found at Damien's house at Damien's desk. The two were doing the homework their teacher had assigned. After a few hours of going over the complications of square roots, Jess finally spoke.
"Damien can I ask you something?" he asked looking up from his homework and over at Damien who was sprawled across his bed.
"What?" Damien asked turning over and putting most of his weight on his elbows.
"Do you…believe in….well, a second chance after you die? Or like… the person who dies comes back?" Jess asked fingering his pencil and wondering if he sounded completely insane.
To his surprise Damien said, quite eagerly, "Yeah. I've read loads of stories about kids or adults that have someone they were close to died. They can see the people that were dead. It's amazing really, but I can never tell if the people are telling the truth." Jess smiled. Damien always had lengthy explanations for everything. Before Damien could get going, however, Jess said,
"I think they were telling the truth."
"Well, one can never be sure."
"What if I told you….that I had seen someone who died?" Jess asked quietly. Damien dropped his pencil which he had been trying to balance on his fingertip and gaped at Jess.
"You what!?"
"Yeah…," Jess said in an off hand voice.
"Why haven't you ever told me? Who did you see?" Damien asked enthusiastically.
"A friend of mine. Her name was Leslie Burke."
"The daughter of the folks who lived here before us?" Damien asked.
"Yeah." Jess shrugged
"Wow. When did this start happening?"
"Like a few months ago. Sometimes she's real and other times she's just like….like air," Jess said and Damien could see thoughts running behind his eyes.
"Jess! That's so cool!" Damien shouted.
"I don't know if it is. I don't want to let go of her again," Jess said quietly. Damien clapped a hand on his friends shoulder.
"No one ever said you would have to let go," he said.
"But I know she has to leave sometime," Jess protested.
"She's only going to leave when she knows she did what she came to do….whatever that was," Damien said before turning back to the bed. Jess sighed; he felt like a huge load had come off his back by finally telling someone, but Damien hadn't helped much. What had Leslie come to do? Well, that was an easy question: to put him back on the road he had started on. And if that was the case….she had done her job, and done it well.
"Damien, I think I'm going to finish this at my house," Jess said after a moment.
"Ok. See you tomorrow," Damien replied, hardly looking up from his work. Jess put his things in his bag and set off down the stairs.
"Leaving so soon, Jess?" Mr. Crawford asked looking up from his newspaper.
"Yeah. I….I've got to do some chores," Jess lied.
"I'll see you tomorrow then," Mr. Crawford said pleasantly. Jess was becoming known very well in the Crawford's household. When Jess got home, he went straight to his room where he hoped Leslie would be waiting. She surprisingly wasn't there, so Jess ran to Terabithia. Hurriedly he crossed the bridge and began to call her name.
"Leslie!" he shouted, his voice echoing across the over grown wood.
"Leslie, please!" She wouldn't have left him. She couldn't have….not when she knew how much he wanted her to stay.
"Leslie!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. It was no use, she didn't answer. Jess tried to breath normally but found he couldn't. How could she have done this?
"Jess? Jess what's wrong?" someone shouted back.
"Leslie?" Jess asked.
"What?" she asked coming into view.
"Don't do that!" he shouted in anger and happiness; how could he have though she would have left him?
"What did I do?" Leslie asked concernedly. Jess sighed and shook his head.
"I thought you'd left. You know, for good."
"Jess, why would I do that?" Leslie said in disbelief.
"Well, that was the whole reason I tried to find you…and I guess I got ahead of myself," Jess muttered embarrassedly.
"What do you mean that's why you came to find me? You're not really making any sense, Jess," Leslie frowned puzzled.
"Well….I think you….I mean…I think I'm ready to let go," Jess said quietly. Leslie stared at him before beaming.
"Are you serious?" she asked. Jess moved his head halfway between a nod and a shrug.
"I really shouldn't be happy…but I'm really excited for you!" she said. Jess laughed and went to go sit on a nearby log.
"I know. It's been….well, it's been a long three years."
"Don't worry. I won't leave just yet," Leslie laughed joyously.
"Come on, let's go fight the enemies the dark master has sent," Leslie grinned as she began to run around. Jess gleefully joined her and once again felt like a king.
A/N: WOOHOO!! I just completed my story tonight!! So that means you should get a chapter tomorrow morning and tomorrow afternoon and then...that's it! ha...ok, sorry I am so excited cuz this is the first story I have finished in a LONG time. Thanks so much for reviewing!!!