Olivia’s violin she’d brought back from Italy.
They must have moved, bought a new house.
They hadn’t told me. I didn’t matter.
- 17.
I had to thank Sarah. She’d been more of a
family than my own, given me warmth in my
final days. She had the day off, so I invited
her to dinner. I bought groceries, went to her
apartment, and cooked. It was the first time
I’d cooked for someone else. I’d learned
hoping to cook for Olivia and Mom, but they
never tried it.
It wasn’t restaurant quality, but it was edible.
I thanked Sarah for her kindness, her support,
for not letting me be alone. I gave her a gift,
the watch I’d bought for Olivia for her
eighteenth birthday. She’d thrown it aside,
forgotten it. I’d kept it, treasured it.
Sarah said if I wanted an easier way out, she
could take more time off, take me somewhere
peaceful. I refused. Even though she was a
doctor, used to death, it would be cruel to
make her watch a friend die. Before I left, I
asked one last favor.
“Sarah,” I said, “in the next life, if there is
one, I’ll repay your kindness.”
She looked at me, her eyes filled with
sadness. Then, she hugged me tight. “Okay,”
she whispered. “I’ll be waiting.” “I’ll be
waiting.”
- 18.
The day Evan and I had agreed on arrived.
He’d died in the ocean. He must have been
so scared. I was going to join him. Ten years
late.
I tried calling Olivia and Mom. Their phones.
were off. I thought about recording a video,
but I looked too awful. I wanted to hear them
<
say my name, one last time. Even Olivia,
yelling at me, anything. But I probably
wouldn’t hear them again.
I took a cab to the beach. The wind howled,
the cold seeping into my bones, the pain.
intensifying. “Happy birthday, Ethan,” I
whispered. “Goodbye, Olivia.” “I don’t want to
be your brother again, not in the next life.”
I hoped, in the next life, someone would be
there to hold my hand when my world fell
apart. I walked into the ocean. The waves
crashed over me, pulling me under. I heard
shouts behind me, someone running towards
me, held back by the crowd. “Ethan!”
Epilogue – Sarah
At the hospital-
“Dr. Andrews, my mother and I have raised
two million dollars. Please, save my
brother…” Olivia and her mother had rushed
from the airport, their faces etched with
exhaustion, eyes red and swollen. Olivia’s
voice was desperate.
“It’s too late.”
“Ethan knew he was sick when he was
eighteen. He had a terminal diagnosis.
“He was having seizures, episodes. How could you, his family, not know?”
I told them it was too late, I was already on
my way to the beach. “Olivia,” I said, “he
longed for your love, endured your constant
abuse. You failed him as a sister.”
<
I told her Ethan hadn’t suffered.
Epilogue – Olivia
Seeing Ethan in the ER, lifeless… I was
terrified. Dr. Andrews told me he was dying. I
somehow made it home, the house echoing
with silence, no Ethan trailing behind me,
calling, “Olivia, Olivia.”
I slapped myself, hard, trying to absorb his
pain. Then, the memories flooded back. All
the cruel things I’d done since Evan died. I
was a monster. A coward. I’d projected my
pain onto him.
I called Mom. She told me to sell everything,
to save Ethan. I flew to Dad, gathered
everything of value, scraped together two
million dollars. By the time we reached the
I called Mom. She told me to sell everything, to save Ethan. I flew to Dad, gathered
everything of value, scraped together two
million dollars. By the time we reached the hospital, it was too late. We raced to the
beach, but Ethan was already gone,
swallowed by the waves.
Both my brothers, gone.
