Elizaveta awoke the next morning. Her candle had burned out. Gilbert's candle had burned out. Gilbert. She looked down at the bed. She must have fallen asleep after he… Left. The bed was empty. Elizaveta looked around. There was no one else in the room. Slowly, she stood and dragged herself down the hallway and down the stairs, out the front door. As she shoved the door open, she found the yard empty. Everyone had returned home, leaving only the imprints of their feet in the grass behind. Elizaveta felt tears slide town her cheek again. She wiped them away and sniffled, walking back home.
That was why her tires had been slashed. Someone didn't want her to get to Gilbert's house. Someone didn't want her to experience the pain surrounding his home.
She made it back home and trudged up her driveway. She bent over and retrieved the discarded keys from the bush, climbing the porch steps, unlocking the door, and letting herself inside. She didn't want to do anything. She didn't even want to change. She threw herself onto the couch and cried into a pillow. Her eyes were still puffy from last night, and her throat was sore, but she didn't care. She just wanted to cry. She wanted to cry into someone's arms, but now there was no one to comfort her. Bella would be helping Antonio through his own mourning, and Roderich wasn't sensitive enough. He'd probably just complain about her tears ruining his coat.
Suddenly, Elizaveta felt her stomach turn. She groaned and clutched her abdomen, sitting up and throwing her feet to the floor.
"Now I have to get up…" she moaned. She stood and ran up the stairs to the bathroom. She threw open the lid covering the toilet and threw up. There wasn't much in her system since she hadn't eaten since her picnic with Gilbert, and she ended up mostly dry heaving.
After she was done, she flushed and slammed the lid back into place before standing up and staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was tear stained, her eyes were puffy and rimmed in red, her hair was tangled and wild, and her headband was crooked. As she noticed something odd, Elizaveta leaned closer to the mirror. Her flower was different. It had been dead and brown yesterday, but now it was pink and soft. It looked just like it did the moment that Gilbert picked it for her on their picnic. She leaned back, confused, and saw another reflection in the mirror from the doorway. This reflection belonged to a man. His messy hair was white, his eyes a deep red, and on his face he wore a crooked smirk. Elizaveta spun around and quickly and screamed. It couldn't be him. He was dead!
"I'm back and here to stay, Lizzie." He said. Not moments after the words left Gilbert's lips, Elizaveta threw herself across the bathroom and into his chest, wrapping her arms around him and squeezing tight. She began to laugh and sob and the same time as she spoke to him.
"Gilbert, you're back! You're back!" she cried. Gilbert smiled and returned her hug.
"I'm back." He said. Elizaveta looked up at him, smiling as tears ran down her raw cheeks.
"Come on, we have to tell everyone." She beamed at him before running down the stairs. He followed her, and as she ran into the kitchen and grabbed the phone, he turned and looked out of the front picture window. He smiled and waved before running off to join Elizaveta in the kitchen.
Outside, Germania felt a small smile creep onto his face. So this was the reason that Gilbert wanted to return so badly. Germania just shook his head and turned away from Elizaveta's home, fading in the warm sunlight of this bright afternoon.