Epilogue
Sarah
I'm looking at myself in the mirror and for the fourth time since I became a free woman, I find a different person in the reflection. This time around is better than the rest, now I can see myself happy.
I’m wearing an Ivory satin dress, adorned with delicate beading that extends into a deep V-cut illusion neckline. My tattoos exposed entirely, so I feel it is the perfect combination between something elegant and…well, myself.
“And to think you were wearing scars under a dirty rag when we first met,”Life remarks.
A white dress was out of the question; there wasn’t anything pure or innocent about me or Bruno.
I walk up to the big window of my bedroom, peeking through the curtain.
I can see a pergola with white fabrics that moved with the wind, some dirty pink and white flowers decorate the ends, there are small lights hanging everywhere, a beautiful white carpet full of petals and a few chairs.
There are not a lot of guests for two main reasons, the first one is that neither of us have friends or family, the second one is for a security matter. We are not in a position to let just anyone into our little fortress.
“It used to be just the two of us, and then we were three. Now, the house is ‘packed’ so to speak,”Life observes.
A keen observation, actually…
Bruno talks to his cousin and brother, he looks stunning. He said he didn’t want it to look like “The Professor” when he married me, so he’s wearing a dark red suit, a white t-shirt and a black bow. I can see how he wipes his sweaty hands on his pants and how Dante and Carter try to calm him down by making bad jokes, like, I’ll probably ran away or that I'm hiding somewhere in the house.
I laugh.
He still thinks I'm going to say ‘no’ at the last minute and his nerves take over, this last month he had countless nightmares about it and even though I swore I was going to say yes, he just can't calm down.
“His nightmares are a statement of how important you are to him and when you consider how strong and independent you’ve become, it’s only logical he feels that way,”Life laughs,“Hell, you made a believer out of me. I’m going to miss you. You know?”
“Wait, miss me?” I willingly reply to her out loud for the first time.
“We’ve had a helluva ride darlin’ I regret nothing.”
“Life. Why does this sound like a goodbye?”
“Because it is. At first I came because you needed me, then I stayed because it was fun and together we made it this far, but I knew this day would come and now it’s here.”
“Wait— “
“This new chapter you are about to embark yourself on, you have to explore it on your own, but don’t worry, you’re more than ready. I only have one last thing I want to tell you if you’d please let me”
“What?”
“Don’t be a bitch. Okay?”Life says while laughing hysterically as she has done many times before and fades one more time. Only this time I have a feeling it was the last.
Someone knocks on the door and Amira walks in, she wears a long pink dress; it covers most of her body and she looks amazing. The day she chose it, she confessed to me that her father chose the clothes for her and that this was the first time she could wear something she really liked.
“Are you ready?” she asks with a bouquet in her hand.
I look outside once more, Bruno is situated where he should be, Carter is next to him.
“Yep, is everybody there?” I imagined that Rage would not come, but I was looking forward to having him with me this day.
“Yes, we are waiting for you.”
“Let's do it, then.” I smile.
I chose Dante to walk me to the altar, Bruno is not aware of that and when he turns to see us, I can see tears on his face.
Dante smiles endlessly and so do I.
This is going to be the best first day of my life.
