Epilogue

EPILOGUE

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"Congratulations, graduates of 2031! May you have a wonderful and blessed journey ahead!" After the principal said those words, everyone applauded and cheered then threw their togas up to the air happily.

I watched some students as they happily hugged each other with tears in their eyes. It was a bittersweet moment, really.

I was watching from the audience and suddenly, I recalled my memories from when I was still in college.

I am very proud of my daughter, Ellise, for graduating college. Watching her grow up fast made me feel a bit sad because I knew that someday, she'll leave me behind when she settles down.

Now, she's a college graduate and was absorbed by the company she went into as an intern.

"Mom! I made it!" She cheered as she ran towards me, wrapping her arms around my shoulder.

"I'm so proud of you Ellise. I knew you'd make it!" I said.

"I just wish dad's here to celebrate with us" she said sadly.

"Well, he's watching from the heavens and I know he's proud of you," I said and gave her a smile.

"I know! I wanna visit mom Autumn, can we?" Ellise asked and I smiled at her.

"Of course, why not?" I answered.

After the graduation ceremony, we drove to Autumn's tombstone, my twin sister that I forgot about and was only reminded of because of my grandma, Janette.

Before we entered the cemetery, we bought a bouquet of flowers and candles. We walked towards her graveyard and placed the flowers on her graveyard. Ellise lit up the candle and placed it on my late twin's graveyard.

It's been years since I found out about my twin sister, Beauty Autumn.

After the revelation, it became even harder for me to face my mother who kept the whole thing a secret from me. I even got mad at my elder sister, Lovely about lying and all.

"Hey twin sis," I said as if she's still alive. "Your daughter has already graduated. I'm so proud of her."

"Hi mom," Ellisa said. "It's such a shame that you are not here to celebrate with us. Don't worry, mom B has been taking care of me since she found me."

Ellisa is my twin sister's only daughter and she prefers to call me mom because to her, I was already her mom the moment I took her in to take good care of her.

It wasn't mentioned in my twin sister's diary that something happened to NJ and my twin sister while they were at the summer camp and it seems that my twin sister was pregnant back then but didn't let our parents know because she was terrified.

Since I have selective amnesia, I also forgot that I helped her keep her baby a secret from our parents. I guess, my mom and sister keeping a secret from me for so long was my karma for helping my twin sister keep her pregnancy a secret.

NJ also confessed that he knew about the baby, obviously that's the main reason why he'd like to find Autumn and be with her. My sister kept on refusing, giving multiple excuses. But the real reason was still a mystery to all of us unless we were able to talk to her ghost.

"Beauty — I mean, Autumn was pregnant back then. She was 9-months pregnant when we parted ways."

"I'm surprised that the school didn't report that to our parents. Sorry, I know you are traumatized but I really couldn't remember anything back then so I need to ask you."

"It's fine. No one from school noticed her tummy because of her binder," He explained. "Few students noticed that she's gotten fatter and that she looked pregnant but she lied and said that her body is not evolving normally."

"And they bought that reason? They didn't even suspect a thing?"

"No, because she's not the only one who looked fat and pregnant back then."

"I see, so that's the reason."

"I thought that you're her that's why I kept on following you, hoping to see my child but it turns out that I was wrong." He said and as I listen, my heart is aching. I've got no problem with that. I can manage pain. I have to focus on helping NJ find out if his child survived the accident or not.

"I see. So I am not the Beauty you wanted to be with. It's my twin sister who has already passed away." I said.

Sometimes, certain misunderstandings could damage your heart so badly. I never knew that NJ would be this important to me. I've decided to keep my feelings and never tell him.

He slowly nodded and whispered, "I'm sorry"

"Don't be. There is nothing for you to apologise for."

"It feels like ... I made your hopes up," he said. "And I feel bad about that."

"Don't be silly. I kept on rejecting you right? I never liked you. Don't worry, you never gave me false hope. Trust me." I lied and faked a smile.

"As long as you're not hurting, I'm relieved," he said.

"Do you have any idea where your daughter might be?" I asked.

"I don't because I thought your family has been keeping my daughter." He answered.

"Is that also the reason why you kept on barging into our house?"

"Yes, I'm sorry" he said in almost a whisper.

"I have an idea. Why don't we contact other survivors who are with Autumn that day?" I suggested.

NJ agreed to the idea and we looked for my former classmates because that was the first lead we have to finding his daughter.

We searched for weeks until we found a survivor and talked to her not on the phone, but in person.

NJ and I began talking again because of my twin sister and we began rebuilding what we left when we last fought.

But this time, it's different. It feels like NJ's being forced to talk to me and I felt like he's only hanging out with me because I reminded him of the person he really loved and the one who's supposed to be his wife and mother of his child.

"Found her address!" I said as soon as I found Sween's home address via the school's website.

"Great! Now, let's go and have a few talks with her."

We didn't waste any more time. We drove all away to Sween's house to talk to our former classmate.

"Alright, here we go" I said as I rang their doorbell.

I rang the bell for 3 times before someone opened the door.

"Yes?" A lady asked who looked like the same age as hours.

"We are looking for Sween," I said. "We need to talk to her."

"Well, I'm Sween. What do you need from me?" She asked.

"I'm Beauty, do you remember me?" I asked, hoping that she could still remember her former classmate because I totally have no recollection of Sween.

"The single one or the pregnant one?" She confirmed. "Sorry, I remembered. I'm assuming that you're the single one. Beauty Autumn is the one who didn't survive."

"That's right," I answered. "Back then, she was pregnant and we were wondering if maybe, you know something about her or the baby?"

She looked at me then at NJ then back at me.

"Come in," she said. "I'll tell you everything I know."

And with that, she opened the door wider, allowing us to enter her humble home.

"Make yourself comfortable," she said, gesturing us to her sofa.

"Thanks" I said and took a seat. NJ sat next to me then Sween sat across from us.

"So, what do you want exactly to know about Autumn?" She asked.

"Remember the day you got into the accident while we're traveling back home?" I started. "My twin was pregnant back then."

"Yes, I know. She confessed to me about it when we were alone. That's also the reason why I sat next to her on the bus. We are both sitting next to her, she's sitting in between us."

"You'd like to keep her safe, I assume" NJ stated. "I'm really thankful that you tried to keep her and our baby safe."

"No worries. It's such a shame that she didn't survive." She said then finally, filled us up with the information she knew.

She looked at me. "You got rescued first and I was left with Autumn back then and the time of the rescue was the same time that Autumn felt her water broke. So when the rescuer went back to save us, I asked him to take the pregnant woman instead," she then looked back at NJ. "As soon as she got out of the bus, the rescuer went back to me to save me and as they began rescuing me, I could hear her screams then I heard the cries of her baby."

NJ and I exchanged looks then back at me.

"So the baby survived!" I said, relieved.

"Yes, thankfully. But due to the massive loss of blood, Autumn didn't make it" she said sadly. "I'm sorry."

"Do you know where the baby was?" I asked.

"She was taken by a doctor," she said. "The one who helped her deliver the baby. It's really a good thing that at least someone knows how to deliver a baby."

"Can you tell me where we can find the said doctor?" I asked and she nodded.

She gave us the hospital name and the doctor's name. "I asked for the doctor's information and I chose him to be my personal doctor so I could at least monitor the baby."

"You should have told me or her family instead of giving my baby to a doctor!" NJ said.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," She said. "But anyway, your baby is safe. Now, go ahead and take back what you've lost."

With the information provided, we thanked Sheen and rushed to the hospital and began looking for the said doctor.

We found a 14-year old Ellise watching over a little kid in the hospital's garden. Doctor Deth, the one who adopted Ellisa, took us to her.

"Woah, you looked exactly like her" NJ whispered to me.

"Well, she's my twin sister's daughter after all," I answered.

"I guess your genes is stronger than ours"

"Dad!" She said as she saw her dad coming her way.

"Hey sweetie, how are you?" He asked.

"I'm fine. I've been babysitting Jake and Connell here." She said as she gestured to the two boys playing with their talking robot as if they were real people.

"Good girl," Dr. Deth said. "You have a few guests, by the way"

She looked at us with a confused look and back at Dr. Deth. "I don't know them, dad. Who are they?"

And that's when he introduced us to her. He also explained the situation.

"No! I don't wanna go with them! You're my parent now! You've been taking care of me since my mom got into an accident!" She said.

We understand if she doesn't want to go with us even though we were blood-related. After all, for her, we are strangers.

So we had to return over and over again to capture her heart until we were able to tame her.

NJ her father took her in and they lived together with his family. I visit my niece who I began treating like my own child too from time to time to play with her in NJ's house so we became even closer too. It almost made me imagine the three of us becoming a real family but I know that no one could ever replace Autumn in NJ's heart.

When Ellise turned 18, NJ had a cardiac arrest leading him to death.

At first, we thought that it was a simple chest pain so we didn't consult the doctor right away.

Little did we know, it was much worse than that. We had regrets for not consulting the doctor right away and we've been carrying it ever since he died.

I was traumatized with the death of my twin sister and I was traumatized again with the death of the man I loved secretly, NJ. It was that kind of love who no one knew about.

NJ had a big impact in my life so I would never forget him.

Drowning in thoughts, my adopted daughter Ellise saved me.

"Mom? Are you okay? I've been talking to you but you are spacing out" Ellise said.

"Sorry Ellise, what were you saying?" I asked.

"I was asking if you are excited about your wedding?" She asked me. "Uncle Tom proposed to you already, right?"

I looked at my engagement ring passed on by his mother and smiled. I looked at Ellise and nodded. "Yes, yes I am"

I never thought that in the end, Thomas Anderson would be the one for me, the man I love in the present and even in the future.

I touched my belly and I couldn't help it but feel excited for our baby.

NJ and Autumn are probably together in heaven, watching over us happily.

It's been years since they left us in this world leaving memories and inspiration behind.

And I promise to take good care of their daughter, Ellise.

— THE END —