Morning streams of sunlight were filtering through the window onto the soft fabric of Lillian's bed. Lillian made little sounds of waking as her body stirred. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, finding Mitsuki curled up next to her, her black strands of hair cascading down her face. Though she was usually a lighter sleeper, Lillian realized Mitsuki must have been more exhausted than she thought, as she barely stirred when Lillian moved. 

Lillian slowly sat up and let out a yawn, feeling refreshed for the first time in days. It was true she was reminded of Irene's death as soon as she opened her eyes, but today felt different, like a hopeful start for her future. Lillian moved her head down to kiss Mitsuki's cheek. The girl shifted in her sleep in response, but nevertheless remained passed out.

Lillian smiled slightly and moved her feet over to the side of her bed. She was beginning to realize how hungry she was and how weak her limbs felt. She shoved her feet into her slippers and stood up, grasping onto the crutches near her bedside. A hot shower seemed like a good idea.

Lillian hummed as the hot water poured over her body. She had managed a few showers in the past week and a half, but this was the first time it was on account of her own free will. She drew hearts and smiley faces onto the steam in the window, something she was sure she had not done since she was ten years old. Yes, today felt better already. She washed herself thoroughly and cleaned her face, feeling more refreshed than ever.

After managing to get clothes on with her injured foot, Lillian hobbled out of the bathroom back into her room, finding a plate of breakfast sitting by her nightstand. There was a glass of orange juice and a piping hot omelet waiting for her to devour.

A simple note was next to the plate, from Mitsuki, Lillian realized.

Morning. I hope you're feeling a little better today. Eiji and I are going to go walk around in the snow, but I thought I'd make you some breakfast first. See you later. Love you.

Lillian grinned and ate away in the comfortable silence of her bedroom. It was the first proper meal she'd had in quite some time, and her stomach finally felt full. She took a deep breath, knowing there was another task she had to do. Go visit Cassie.

Judging by the quietness of the halls, she was sure the girl had not yet woken. Lillian slowly emerged from her room, heading down the hall to Cassie's room. It was already filled to the brim with Marc and Cassie's family.

They all turned their heads to look at her as she came into the doorway.

"Um...hello," Lillian said quietly.

"You can have my chair, Lillian," Diana offered, moving away to let her sit. Lillian was about to open her mouth in protest, but the others were already shoving her forward, allowing her to take a seat next to Marc so that she didn't have to stand on her crutches.

"I'm glad to see you out of your room," Marc murmured.

"I feel a little better today," Lillian admitted. She glanced forward at Cassie's still body before turning back to Marc. "How is she?"

"No improvement, but she isn't getting worse either," Marc responded.

"I hope she wakes up," Lillian said quietly. She was beginning to think of the losses she had suffered. Her father, Irene...She didn't want to lose her sister and close friend now as well. Lillian felt her limbs began to tremble, and a few tears rolled down her cheeks. She supposed it was unreasonable to think she could get through the day without crying.

A hand grasped onto her shoulder. Lillian turned her head, seeing her mother with the same somber expression on her face. Her face lifted into a slight smile when she stared down at Lillian.

"I'm glad you're safe," her mother said.

Lillian sniffed slightly, wiping her nose with her hand. "C-Can I talk to you?" she wondered.

Jane Black seemed surprised at the idea, but she nodded, exiting the room with Lillian to stand outside in the hallway. As soon as they were out of the view of the others, Lillian threw her arms around the woman and began crying into her shirt. Lillian was not quite sure what had compelled her to do it. Perhaps it was that Lillian had always craved the presence of a mother for comfort but had never had her until now. Her mother stiffened for a moment before Lillian felt her muscles relax. Then, Jane Black began running her fingers through Lillian's hair and stroking her back, allowing her to cry.

It was not long before Lillian could hear her mother crying too. She couldn't imagine the toll Cassie's comatose state was having on her and the rest of Cassie's family. Losing a parent had been hard enough for Lillian. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose a child.

"Why don't we go to your room so you can sit down?" her mother suggested.

She nodded and limped to her room. The dirty plate was still on the nightstand, and her bed hadn't been made, not to mention clothes were strewn all about, but her mother didn't seem to care.

Lillian took a set on the bed beside her mother, trying to let her tears cease. Her mother grasped onto her hand, waiting until she was ready to talk.

"I'm sorry. I've been going through a lot," Lillian murmured.

"I heard your friend died. I'm sorry."

"I'm sad about Cassie too. I hope she wakes up," Lillian said. "I-I'm sorry for being so mean to you, for not giving you a chance..."

"No, no. Please don't think you owe me anything," Jane Black said, her green eyes staring back into Lillian's. "I did some awful things to you. It's true that part of it had to do with my mental health at the time, but I should have come after you when your father died. I should have been checking in on you. It was wrong of me to assume that you would let me back into your life again so easily. You don't need to. You don't owe me any respect."

"I always try to treat everyone with kindness," Lillian assured her.

"I know. I'm glad you turned out that way. I'm not so sure I could have raised you to turn out into the lovely young woman you are today. I still love you very much, Lillian. You were my first child. I'm just sorry I couldn't care for you. And I'm sorry for lying about not recognizing you when we first met," her mother admitted.

"I-It's okay," Lillian said. "You haven't done anything lately to really infuriate me. I think we were both making the situation awkward. But you did help me that time I was drunk, and that was kind inviting both me and Mitsuki to Thanksgiving. I believe you when you say you care about me. I don't really know what I feel toward you yet. I don't love you. I'm sorry."

Her mother shook her head. "It's okay."

"I don't know when or if I can ever forgive you for what you did to me. But I know even adults make mistakes, and I'm glad you acknowledge your mistakes now. So...I want to make things less awkward between us. I don't think I'll ever truly be able to embrace this family dynamic. Can I...call you Jane?" Lillian suggested.

"That's fine. 'Mom' sounds weird, doesn't it? You don't need to force yourself to get to know me."

"No. I won't. I'll do what is reasonable, but lately, you've given me no reason to avoid you and cut you out of my life completely. So I want to try. I want to see what a mother-daughter relationship feels like, just a bit of it. So...I'll put in more effort if you do too," Lillian promised.

"Deal," her mother said.

Lillian slightly smiled, beginning to feel a little more at peace. No more grudges. She liked that idea. It was a time for new beginnings after all.

"Can I go sit with you all and visit Cassie a bit more?" Lillian wondered.

"Of course. You don't need our permission. I think she'd be glad to know you were visiting her," her mother said.

A tiny bit of tears gathered in Lillian's eyes again. She smiled and followed Jane Black back to where Cassie lay.

...

Another week had passed. Carly had left the cabin after her parents were dispatched, and Conny began getting mercilessly teased by Lillian and Marc soon after. She found it cute the way he avoided his gaze when he talked about her and how he would wring his hands together nervously. She hoped they would get to reunite soon.

Cassie had not woken. But Lillian went and visited her for an hour a day anyway, hoping she could come back to take care of Elijah again and hear about Conny's love life drama and finally get a life of peace she deserved. There was a wedding that needed to be planned, after all.

She and Mitsuki had begun discussing the future, wondering what the next step was. As much as they joked of getting married, Lillian had honestly admitted that she wanted to travel with Mitsuki first, see the world, and do normal couple things before they got too serious. They had only been dating six months, after all. Not that Lillian thought there would ever be anyone else for her. She was thankful to crawl into bed with the other girl at night. Cherie was beginning to suggest Mitsuki just move her things into Lillian's bedroom since they rarely slept apart.

There was still something Lillian had yet to do. The headquarters were still being torn down, while a memorial was being constructed in its place. The bodies had been buried, though there were more names that needed to be added. She had received a notice that her father's name had been placed at the site. Irene had been buried there too. It was time to say her proper good-byes.

Lillian held two small flower bouquets as she headed out to Cherie's car. She walked down the icy steps, hearing a "Wait!" behind her.

Lillian spun around to find Mitsuki running out to her. The girl gave her a quick kiss and placed a hand against her cheek.

"I hope you can find peace," she said.

"You don't want to come?" Lillian asked. "Your parents and brother..."

"I'll go eventually. But I think you should go alone," Mitsuki told her.

Soon enough, Lillian was driving back to the cursed battlefield she had encountered weeks before. It was a long drive, one that she mostly slept through. It was getting into the late afternoon, evening hours when they finally did arrive. The sun was just beginning its descent, casting bright lights and dark shadows onto the rolling hills of snow.

"I'll wait out here by the road," Cherie offered.

The headquarters looked completely different from when Lillian had last seen them. There was still deconstruction going on. The parts that had been cleared looked somber, and yet much more beautiful. Rows and rows of graves filled the hills, each bearing the name of a soul the Preservers had taken.

Lillian's crutches had been replaced with a boot, though she still was slow meandering through the memorial. She went down row after row until, attempting to find her father first. Finally, she stumbled upon the last name "Riddle" until she found George Riddle. Her grandparents, whom she barely remembered, were buried near him.

Lillian knelt down in the snow and placed flowers at his grave. She knew there was no body underneath, but she liked to think her father was with her anyway. She let her legs sprawl under her and began to talk.

"Hi, Daddy," she said. "I'm glad I can actually speak to you somewhere now. I can't believe you've been gone over ten years. I still miss you reading me bedtime stories and chasing me around the house until we both collapsed from laughter. I hope you like the person I've become. I like me a lot, I think.

"I met Mom recently. She isn't who I expected, but I'm going to try to get along with her, I think. I don't know if that's what you would have wanted. But she brought me two siblings, which I'm thankful for. Cassie especially has been a great addition to my life. I'm glad she's my sister.

"I think you'd like all my friends, and I think you'd be so grateful to Cherie, who took me in. The Preservers would have gotten me otherwise, and I know that's what you wouldn't have wanted. Um...I'm in love now. I have a beautiful girlfriend named Mitsuki. I don't know if you would have been okay with that. Not that I really care because it's my life, but...I'm sure you wouldn't have been opposed. I know you always wanted what was best for me, and she's one of the best things that has happened to me.

"The Preservers are gone now, and the headquarters are torn down. I hope I've brought justice to your death in some ways by doing that," Lillian murmured. "I love you. I miss you." Strangely, there were no tears shed. After all, her father had been dead for quite some time, but her heart still throbbed with pain regardless.

Slowly, Lillian stood, beginning to hobble through the snow again toward the grave she was dreading the most. She could already feel the tears gathering as she went down the line of E's, eventually landing on Ellis. And there was Irene's grave, the dark stone popping out at her in the pale snow.

Lillian let out a harsh cry and sunk down into the snow, dropping the flowers beside her. Unlike the proper mourning she had endured with her father, this was different. Irene's death was fresh and new, so unfair and cruel. And worst of all, her body was actually buried underneath unlike many of the other graves.

It took a few minutes of crying before Lillian could finally collect herself enough to speak. She grabbed the discarded flowers and placed them neatly against Irene's grave. Her eyes scanned the dates. Irene had only been twenty-three years old. She had a full life ahead of her, and the Preservers had taken that.

"H-Hi," Lillian managed to say. "I'm sorry it took me so long to come. I finally was able to start getting back to life again recently, but I'm still going to think about you, probably every day, for a long, long time. Your death was so unfair. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there to comfort you when you were dying, though I heard Cassie was there with you. I'm sorry if I wasn't able to show you as much attention as you wanted in the last few weeks you were here with us.

"Life is going to feel strange without you. Even though we were apart for a few years when you went back, I knew you were alive at least, and that you'd stay alive for the sake of your son. But right now everything feels dark and painful without you here. I always had hope you'd come back to us after the betrayal, Irene. I'm so glad you did, that I got to spend time with you for just a little longer. You were my closest friend, even my girlfriend at one point.  Those were some of my happiest days.

"I don't blame you for choosing Miguel, though I'm sorry I could not choose you again when you came back. But I still cared for you deeply," Lillian said, her voice beginning to catch in her throat. "I...I love you, Irene. Even if it's not the same way I love Mitsuki. I always felt a deeper sort of love for you, the love of lasting friendship. You were one of the few people I let see my flaws. It was hard to always just be the 'nice girl' around everyone else, but you made me feel like I could say or do anything I wanted.

"I'm going to miss the pale color of your hair, your fierce determination, your beautiful eyes, your loud mouth, and your resilience to do what was right. I'll never forget the days we spent together going on walks in the woods or talking about deep matters late at night. I'll do my best to keep you alive through memory, and I'm going to make sure your son hears all about you.

"Farewell, Irene. I'll never forget you," Lillian said quietly, tracing her fingers over the cold gravestone. A few more sobs overcame her body before she forced herself to stand. It wasn't good-bye forever, but good-bye for now. Each step away from Irene's grave made it just a little easier to accept Irene's fate and move on.

She could no longer make out the grave in the masses as she moved further away. Her crying had stopped, and her lungs felt full of oxygen again. For some reason, she felt like this might be the last time she cried over Irene for a while. There had been something satisfying about saying her good-byes, ones she had not been able to say the day Irene died or the weeks following. Lillian hoped Irene had been listening.

For now, she was eager to go home and speak to the others, wait with them for Cassie to wake, play with Elijah, and give Mitsuki a hundred kisses. The sun had begun to peek through the winter clouds. The faintest smile came to Lillian's face as she returned back to Cherie's car.

"You look more like yourself," Cherie commented as Lillian climbed in.

"I feel better," Lillian admitted as the car started up and rolled away from the figures of Lillian's past.