Arigatou ありがとう

Light 光

"Please... No matter how much despair awaits them... Let what remains at the end of their stories... Be like that sunny day... Full of gentle light." - Xerxes Break, Pandora Hearts

Breathe.

Watch.

Listen.

Remember this moment for the rest of your life, Amy. Remember every single detail of this picture, from the little smile lines around Dan's eyes to the orange and red leaves littering the ground. Cherish it, seal it, and keep it with you for the rest of your life, because it won't last forever.

And she knew that. Nothing like this would ever last forever.

From her own experience in life, Amy Cahill regarded that as truth - happiness never lasted forever. It was an emotion, and like all emotion, it would pass. She knew that - in fact, she knew that better than anyone. As much as she wanted it to, as much as she wished and begged and cried, happiness did not last forever.

Life did not last forever. Love did not last forever. Family did not last forever.

Nothing did. But they did last for a short while, and as short and fleeting as all of those were, in this moment in time she was in, she had all of what she wanted: happiness, life, love, and family; and she would not give any of it up for the world. (She knew that this moment wouldn't last for long - maybe a few hours, maybe for the rest of the day - but she had all of it right now, a memory of light, and she would cherish and remember it for the rest of her life.)

Everything would be remembered: the sound of the Holt siblings' laughs; the gentle strumming of Jonah's guitar; Sinead's smile and the sound of her brothers' voices; the calmness etched into Ian's features; the sky and sun reflected in Dan's eyes - she would never forget a single moment, a single angle of this picture, because in this scene, everyone had gotten a small portion of what any of them would call a happy ending, and everyone was bathed in light.

No darkness, no pain, no death. All that you need to remember, Amy, is that everyone is happy, and everyone is sitting in the sunshine.

Amy could hear the crunching of the fallen leaves under her family's feet, could see the sunshine illuminating their laughter, and she thought that yes, life is beautiful.

a/n. Well. It's been a while, hasn't it?

Most of the authors I know around here aren't writing much for The 39 Clues anymore; things have gone on, life and reality has slapped us all in the face, and I think we all have sort of... grown out of the series. It's a bit of a shame, too, really, because this is the thing that brought us all together - the thing that allowed us all to meet in the first place.

Things have changed. People have come and gone, and new people have come to take their place. Even I don't talk to many of my friends on here as much anymore, and that's something that bothers me daily.

But that's how life goes, I guess, and we all move on.

I've moved on from this series.

I don't think I'll ever write as much as I used to for this fandom back when I first joined this site - I feel a sort of disconnection from the characters, from the series as a whole, and that drive and passion I had for it has slowly disappeared over the years. But I'll come back every so often with a new drabble, a new one-shot. Other than that, however, I don't think I'll ever continue or finish any of my multi-chapters for this fandom, as much as that kills me to say. I have a hard time finishing what I've started.

I think this drabble was a sort of closing theme. It's short, much shorter than the other ones in this story collection, and that's how I wanted it. As much as I'd like to end this whole collection here, I don't know if I'll ever feel the urge to continue it when I feel the need to, so I'll leave it as incomplete.

This was my way of - I guess - officially saying goodbye to The 39 Clues as one of the most important aspects of my life. It contributed into making me the person I am today, and this was the closing theme. I wrote this also as a way to cope with the circumstances regarding that manga quote at the beginning, because I am not okay with any of it and I am grieving, don't touch me-!

...In any case, I wrote this drabble in a short period of time - there are probably tiny errors scattered throughout that will later kill me to see, but as of now, that's okay.

(And this author's note is a whole lot longer than the drabble itself and that bothers me a great deal, but I feel like this needs to be said.)

I hope everyone has many little moments of light, because you all deserve it so much.

So...

Thank you.