CHAPTER 1

NOTES: The story was written for the "ALLEY'S AWARDS FOR YOUR FLASHFIC" contest, organized by Down Hanna's Ally.

Five years have passed since I left and there is not a day that goes by without me observing and protecting them from up here. It wasn't easy to let them go, I admit. Often, I have felt so destroyed that I want to scream at the whole world to unleash all my pain. Little by little it has faded but has not disappeared. Here I am close to all the people I have lost in my life… yet I feel alone.

I wanted to be by Richard and Catherine's side on their wedding day to wish them well.

I also wanted to congratulate Alex and Jo on their wedding and their little plague; I wanted to be the one to give advice to Alex, from father to father. I wanted to tell him that I was proud of him, of the road traveled and of his results. I would have liked to congratulate Jo on her choice of specialization: pediatrics is magic, being with children is believing that anything is possible, even when this is not.

Congratulations should also be made to Jackson and April: for fighting for their marriage, for not having stopped trying to have a child until he really arrived with little Lucy. I wanted to congratulate April on having the courage and strength to go to war zones and help all those who need it; with Jackson to continue carrying out Mark's teachings, making him proud.

I would have liked to cheer up with Callie and Arizona for not giving up couples therapy: it is not easy to get up after a fall, but trying together is already a sign of love; certainly, having adopted another child gave one more reason to start over. I was proud of Callie because she continued to carry on our project with the same determination and strength, never giving up.

Maggie is another of those people who made me proud for her incredible work, carried out after her talent. Cristina Yang ... difficult to replace and above all to forget: I would have liked to wish her too for having finally found love and for not leaving my Meredith alone.

I would have liked to congratulate Edwards on choosing neurosurgery as her specialty, I would not have been able to see her in other departments. Of course, I wanted to be his teacher but, I must admit: my successor has all the talent to equal me.

And Bailey, for giving me life lessons that no one else would have dared to do. I would have liked to have been present at the return of the "Nazi": I admire how, after so many years, she continues to be increasingly aggressive in dealing with what she believes in and in carrying out increasingly original projects.

Finally, if I had the chance,

if I had known… I would have thanked four more people who have made my life better.

Life is not measured by breaths

what are we doing,

but through the moments that leave us

breathless.

- Maya Angelou

Author space:

Here I am with a new story, this time the fandom is Grey's Anatomy * _ *

As I wrote at the beginning this story participates in the contest and there was a limitation of up to 600 words, this is about 550 .... I'm sorry it's short, but the contest required it;)

As for the idea, I have to thank PervicanBlack "I Swear, I Lived" on the Glee fandom that gave me the idea of ​​writing one for Grey's Anatomy starring Derek. The idea is of him, I just adapted it to my beloved series and everything inside it is my own invention.

Moving on to history .... well, what about? Derek is the progatonist of this chapter, he talks from up there about what happened in those years that went away, it's done very briefly but somehow this chapter and the next one that will be the last is a thank you story; kind of like he was writing a letter.

Obviously, as with every story, for this one too I have to thank my sister and my cousin Viviana who gave her an extra touch, gave her what she needed to have more effect; if he is here, it is only thanks to them that they support me and are always near me, giving me advice, corrections and opinions to make my ideas into a fantastic story.

I don't know what else to say; I know it's a bit weird as a story, but I haven't seen an idea like this in this fandom so I wanted to try. I really hope you like it because it was absolutely not easy, I loved Derek, his death destroyed me and therefore, if you like, leave both a negative and a positive comment, both are always well accepted and constructive. Happy reading to all ^ _ ^