“Every day,” I rasped.
“Those moments are a gift. But their end is not a punishment. I am never cruel, Benjamin. I know you before you are born. I know you after you die. My plans for you are not defined by this world.
“Beginnings and endings are earthly ideas. I go on. And because I go on, you go on with me. Feeling loss is part of why you are on Earth. Through it, you appreciate the brief gift of human existence, and you learn to cherish the world I created for you. But the human form is not permanent. It was never meant to be. That gift belongs to the soul.
“I know the tears you shed, Benjamin. When people leave this Earth, their loved ones always weep.” She smiled. “But I promise you, those who leave do not.”
She lifted a hand and motioned upward. And at that instant, Annabelle, I can hardly describe it; the open air seemed to sweep aside, and the blue reflection of the atmosphere melted into the most brilliant light, a color for which I have no word. In that light, I saw more souls than there are stars in the sky. Yet somehow I could see the contented faces of each and every one of them. Among those faces, I saw my loving mother.
And I saw you.
I need nothing else.
Land
There were more pages, but LeFleur stopped reading. He stuffed them into his briefcase and wiped his eyes as he raced from the office.
He drove home trembling. He entered the yellow house and ran up the stairs. He put his hand on the door-knob of his daughter’s room, and for the first time in four years, he turned it open. As he stood there, staring at the small bed and the pink stars he’d painted on the ceiling, Patrice stepped up behind him and said, “Jarty? What’s going on?”
He turned and grabbed her close. Through heaving breath, he whispered, “Lilly’s all right. She’s all right. She’s safe.” And Patrice began crying, too.
“I know, sweetheart. I know she is.”
They hugged each other tightly and later would not remember how long they held that embrace. But they slept that night without waking up once. And when LeFleur opened his eyes the next morning, he felt something he had not felt in a very long time. He felt peace.
News
ANCHOR: Tonight, an astonishing development in the search for the Galaxy. Our Tyler Brewer is aboard the exploration vessel the Iliad.
REPORTER: That’s right, Jim. A discovery has been made. On the far end of the five-mile “search box,” researchers spotted a large wreck on the ocean floor, about three miles down. It appears to be lying on its side. Ali Nesser of Nesser Ocean Explorations is with us here in what’s called the “offline room” on the ship. Mr. Nesser, what are you seeing?
ALI NESSER: Late last night, our sonar system detected a large mass on the seabed. The data suggested a vessel approximately the size of the Galaxy, which gave us a strong suspicion that we’d located it. We then sent the Remotely Operated Vehicle or ROV down to take pictures of the wreckage. We received those images here on the screens behind me, and we’re analyzing the data.
REPORTER: What does the data suggest?
ALI NESSER: Well, it’s pitch-black down there, so everything we’re getting is from the lights of our ROV. Still, we’re confident this is the Galaxy. You can see the markings. And that was a pretty unique vessel.
REPORTER: Can you determine what caused her to sink?
ALI NESSER: No one should speculate on that until we have more data. But these images tell you a lot. Look at the hull. It’s light fiberglass, which makes it susceptible to damage.
REPORTER: And by damage, you mean the hole we see?
ALI NESSER: That’s just the bow. Look at this shot from the stern, where the engine room was located.
REPORTER: Those holes are even bigger.
ALI NESSER: That’s right. Whatever happened, happened more than once. It wasn’t one hole. It was three.
Thirteen
Sea
These will be the last words I write, my love. I realize now that you are always with me. I can share my thoughts just by picturing you. But on the chance that someone else finds this notebook, I want them to know the end of my story, and perhaps decide if it means anything at all.
The day after Alice opened the heavens for my view, it rained, and we were able to collect fresh water, enough to energize me into taking on tasks I’d felt too depressed or overwhelmed to try. I studied the broken solar still, and used some raft patch repair to plug up the hole. With the hot sun burning on the plastic, the condensation formed and eventually fresh drinking water collected in the reservoir. I also used the fishing line from the ditch kit and fashioned a hook from one of Mrs. Laghari’s earrings that I’d had in my pants pocket that final night on the Galaxy.