The Last Goodbye

Hot tears rolled down her face as the credits began to roll.  That was it, it was over.  After thirteen years, the journey had come to an end at last, ending right where it had begun so many years before.  She watched as the names and pictures of the actors and characters she had so come to love flashed across the screen.  She'd known her heart would get broken, had tried to prepare herself, but there was no preparing for what had come.  She'd loved every second of it, but also dreaded it, because each second, each minute that passed by brought it closer to the end.  As she listened to the beautiful song playing, reminding her of this last goodbye, she felt her sorrow deepen and she wondered at the people around her, laughing and joking, ready to head back into the world and continue on with their lives.  She had the feeling that for most of those people, it was nothing more than a movie, nothing special.  But to her, it was so much more.

When the journey had begun thirteen years before, she had instantly fallen in love, swept up in the adventure, the danger, the excitement, the joy, the sorrow, the victories, and the losses.  She had come to care deeply for the characters who led her on the journey, who came to inspire her and excite her and make her look at the world differently.  She had cried bitter tears when that journey came to an end, not daring to hope that it might continue.  And yet, nine years later, her dream came true and she happily continued on the journey, revisiting old characters and meeting new ones.  And characters that she had never cared much about or given much thought too, suddenly came to life and she found herself being drawn in by them, found herself beginning to care for them.  But even as the excitement ran high, there was a shadow in her joy, for she knew that in the end, they would break her heart.

For two years she ran with arms wide open, welcoming and embracing each new development, each new adventure and new character.  As the credits rolled at the end of that second year, she knew that she must begin to prepare herself for the last journey, for as far as she could see, the journey would not continue on from there.  And then it came, the night that she both longed for and dreaded for a year.  And, oh, what a thrilling adventure it was!  Everything she had hoped for and everything she had feared.  As the characters she had come to love so dearly fell one by one, she felt her heart break.  The tears flowed unchecked, bathing her cheeks with crystal streams.  She could not stop them and she did not try.  She grieved, for she had lost dear friends.

As the screen at last darkened and the lights slowly came back on, she closed her eyes for a moment.  To others they were no more than movies, entertainment, something to watch when bored.  For her, they had lifted her spirits when the darkness threatened to overwhelm her, they were inspiration when it felt that it was all pointless, they were mentors who brought words of wisdom when she needed them, but most of all, they were friends, friends who never failed to bring her joy and encouragement.  They had been a part of her for over half her life.  She loved them and it hurt, because that love was real.  But despite the pain that twisted her heart, there was still the knowledge that even though in many ways this was the end, she could always go back, back to the rolling hills and gentle streams, back to the woodland forests and plains of golden grass.  It held a piece of her heart, and she knew that she would always find a home there and she would always return.