Chapter 11
After all this time, I’d finally moved on. Life had led me out of his reach, to a place of my own. It was bittersweet, yet peaceful, knowing I’d taken a step toward closure.
When I heard Derick had pulled through the surgery, I arranged for a private nurse. to handle his care. The doctors suggested I visit him, if only for a moment, to say
—
something anything. I politely refused. It was over between us, and I didn’t want to create any new entanglements. We‘ d finally settled our debts to each other; it was better to leave things as they were.
Once my father’s funeral was over, I slipped back into a quieter, simpler life. I found a small job in our town, enough to support myself and care for my mother, who was now my anchor and my focus. Together, we began to navigate a world without my father, though his memory lingered in every corner of our small
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home.
Derick showed up at my door once, post- recovery, hoping for one last conversation. I didn’t answer, standing on the other side with my hand on the doorknob, heart steady. After a moment, he left, but he left a single yellow rose on the doorstep as a silent gesture of farewell. That was the last I saw of him.
Much later, I heard through old friends that Derick had left his family behind and ventured to the north, determined to hike his way through uncharted paths. But fate, it seemed, had other plans. He’d been attacked by robbers along the way, and in the struggle, lost his sight entirely. Now, his life was confined to his family‘ s care, bound to the house with a darkness I could only imagine.
As for me, life went on, and slowly, the ache in my heart began to ease. Two years had passed since I walked away from the past, and in that time, I had found
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someone who made me believe in love again. He showed me a kind of affection that felt pure and steady, something I had longed for. As I looked at him, I realized that this time, I was no longer unsure. I was certain that he was the one I would spend forever with.
(The End)
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