EPILOGUE

TO BEGIN AGAIN — INGRID MICHAELSON & ZAYN
But then the sun came right back
And the birds sang as if nothing had happened

2020
TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AFTER

IT WAS A warm Sunday afternoon. Olivia stood in the middle of the cemetery with her hands in her pockets, nestled between Mikey and Emily. She watched as the older woman handed her niece a bundle of dahlias with a small smile.

The ten year old girl took the bundle and split it with each of her two older brothers. Together, the three Montez children carefully placed them on the headstone before them.

In Loving Memory of
OLIVIA JULIETTE MONTEZ
The Sun Shined Brighter Because She Was Here

To say Olivia was confused would be an understatement. One second she was in a dark room mourning her own death, and the next, she was back in Sylvia's Sweets. Except it wasn't called Sylvia's Sweets anymore, it was now called Sunset Sweets. And no one could see her, no one could hear her, and her mom looked like she was in her sixties.

She was staring at her faded signature on the wall when two boys entered the shop.

The first boy looked to be around her age while the second looked a few years younger. She thought the older one was Mikey for a split second—he looked exactly like her brother—until her mom greeted them and called him Alex. The second boy's name was Oliver. They were brothers and they called her mom 'grandma'.

Olivia knew she was dead. She spent all of her time in the dark room coming to terms with it, but nothing prepared her for finding out just how long she had been dead for.

Twenty-five years had passed.

She thought it had only been an hour since the paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene of her fatal car crash, not two and a half decades.

Olivia was shocked, and confused, and honestly on the brink of a panic attack when she found out.

When she finally calmed down, she followed her mom and the two boys home from the shop, only to find Mikey waiting for them in a house that wasn't her childhood home.

She cried when her eyes landed on Mikey for the first time. The last time she saw him, he was thirteen years old with a baby face. Now, he was in his late thirties with a wife and three kids. Not only that, but his wife was none other than Katherine Mercer.

In her disbelief, her mind went to the boys of Sunset Curve. If she was a ghost, there was a strong possibility that they were too. She spent the next few days searching Los Angeles for them.

She went to her childhood home, only to find it empty and that it now belonged to Rose and her family.

She went to their studio, also empty, but now redecorated with plants and chairs that hung from the ceiling.

She went to Sunset Curve, Sonny's Diner, Santa Monica Pier, Griffith Park, each of their houses, and walked up and down Sunset Strip. They were no where to be found. She couldn't find Bobby either.

A few days passed and Olivia's hope diminished. She spent her time watching over Mikey's kids.

Alex was the oldest at seventeen. He was very smart and his attitude was similar to his namesake.

Oliver was fifteen. A total sweetheart who played lacrosse and guitar. Olivia had no doubt that he would've given Luke a run for his money.

The youngest of Mikey and Kat's children was little Lucy. The blonde was only ten, but she knew exactly how to get what she wanted. She was also an amazing pianist, taking after her aunt.

Olivia started to accept that she was alone, destined to be unseen for the rest of eternity. In the few days since she came back, she fell in love with her brother's kids, mourning the life she never got to have for herself.

Maybe in another life, this would've belonged to her and Luke. Their show at the Orpheum would've been a success and a recording contract would've been signed. They'd go on tour for a few years, travel the world, write albums, then settle down. Have a few kids. Be in love. Be together.

When Sunday came around, she followed her family to the cemetery where Luke's parents waited with flowers. After all these years, the two families' tradition of Sunday lunch lived on.

Olivia watched as the trio set the flowers at the base of her headstone before moving to the next grave over.

They had buried her next to Luke.

She wrapped her arms around herself, listening to her family share stories about her life.

She hadn't noticed the person watching her in the distance.

When Luke came back as a ghost, Olivia was the first person he thought of. Not his mom, not his dad. Olivia.

Twenty-five years was a long time. He wanted to know how she was, how she coped after their deaths, if she got everything she ever wanted, if she was happy.

He thought about asking Julie for help in finding her, considering her mom was Olivia's cousin and she might know something, but he decided against it.

He needed find her on his own. Luke didn't tell anyone, but he searched for her for days.

He went to Sylvia's bakery, Sunset Curve, Sonny's Diner, Santa Monica Pier, Griffith Park, and walked up and down Sunset Strip.

Each time, the pair narrowly missed each other.

It wasn't until Sunday came that Luke remembered how she'd always go to his parents' house for lunch. He was certain he'd find her there.

After giving Alex, Reggie, and Julie a half assed excuse to leave the studio, he left for his childhood home.

His parents' house was empty when he arrived. Figuring that they went to visit his grave, he went to the cemetery.

He found a group of people standing among the headstones. Their backs were facing him, but he knew who they were. He didn't have many regrets, but leaving them behind was perhaps his biggest one.

Along with his parents, Sylvia's hair had gone grey. The maternal warmth surrounding her remained unchanged, something Luke found comfort in.

Mikey was taller and his mop of hair had been trimmed. He was older, wiser. In front of him was two teenage boys and a little girl. Luke studied them, finding the resemblance between them and the Montez siblings from twenty feet away. Were they Mikey's children? Olivia's?

Finding the courage, he finally laid his eyes on his love. He knew her anywhere. It was like his soul knew when she was near and pulled him towards her.

Olivia was standing between his mom and Mikey. He couldn't see her face, but her hair was still dark and she still had the habit of tugging at her sleeves.

Luke watched as the three children set flowers upon two graves.

His brows furrowed as the group shared a few words before turning to leave. Only one remained standing.

His eyes roamed her figure. Her shoulders were hunched over and she seemed to be talking to herself—or maybe she was talking to him.

He waited for the group to pass him before slowly walking up to her.

"We were so close," Olivia lamented, her voice strained. "Everything we ever wanted was only two hours away and it was stolen by hot dogs of all things."

As Luke got closer to her, he could see how little she had changed. Her voice hadn't aged and the way she held herself was the same.

"Maybe in another lifetime."

When Luke was close enough, he saw that Olivia hadn't changed at all. There was no trace of the past twenty-five years. His eyes fell to the grave beside his own and he saw Olivia's name inscribed.

"Olivia?" He called warily, scared that he was only getting his hopes up.

"Great, now I'm hearing voices," she muttered, back still facing him. "First I'm turned into Casper the Friendly Ghost and now I'm hearing voices. This is just great."

Luke couldn't help but chuckle at her words. He missed her.

Olivia froze with a sharp intake of breath before slowly turning on her heel. Her eyes were wide and she filled with shock. "Luke?" She breathed, still thinking this was her mind playing tricks on her.

When she concluded that it really was Luke standing in front of her, she ran forward and threw herself into his arms. "Luke!"

He smiled softly into her hair, his own emotions flooding him. When he died, all he wanted was more time with her and here they were.

They stood in each other's arms, tears falling onto their shoulders.

"Where have you been?" Olivia breathlessly demanded. "I looked all over for you!"

"I've been at the studio with the boys," he informed with a small laugh. 

They pulled away, but kept each other close.

"I looked there but—" Olivia's eyebrows knitted together. "Wait, Alex and Reggie are ghosts too? They're here?"

Luke nodded, happiness filling him. "Yeah, they'll be so happy to see you!" He exclaimed.

His gaze fell to her headstone. He read the dates on it and saw that she had died days after him.

He shifted his focus back to her and saw that she had followed his gaze. "Olivia, how—?"

"It was a car accident," she said with a sigh. "I was leaving your funeral and somebody ran a red light." There was a beat of silence before her lips pulled into a smirk. "Sure beats dying of food poisoning, doesn't it?"

Luke shook his head with a scoff. "How long have you been here?"

"About a week."

"Me too!" Luke shouted, his hands falling to her hips. "We were in this dark room and Alex was crying and then we heard our demo and then next thing we knew, we were falling from the sky and landed right in the studio—Oh! And Rose's daughter, Julie, can see us and when we play music with her, other people can see us too!"

"Julie?" Olivia questioned. It was nice to place a name with the face in the pictures she saw earlier that week. "Julie as in—"

"Juliette," Luke nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, they live in your house now."

"I know I saw pictures when I went there looking for you. Did you see Rose? How is she?"

Luke paused. "No," he said gently. "I'm so sorry, trouble. Rose passed away last year—but we saw Victoria! She's doing well, I think. And Julie's a lot like her mom, and Carlos reminds me of Mikey."

"Speaking of Mikey, he named his kids after us," She smiled, looking over her shoulder at her brother who was now leaving the cemetery. "You, me, and Alex."

"Are you serious?" Luke grinned, looking over at the kids sitting in Mikey's car.

Olivia nodded. "Alex, Oliver, and Lucy," she recited. "And you'll never guess who he married."

"Who?"

"Baby Mercer."

"No way!" He laughed. "Oh, man, wait until Alex hears about this. He's gonna freak!"

Their song of their laugher same to an end and a blanket of sadness fell over them. That could've been them.

"I'm sorry."

Olivia looked up at him. "For what?"

"I left you, we left you." He frowned. "We died right in front of you and you had to deal with that all alone, go to our funerals... I said I'd never leave you and I did."

"But you came back to me," she pointed out. "That's all that matters."

Luke's hands travelled to cup her face, his palms returning to the place they knew as home, and Olivia leaned his hold.

"I love you," he whispered, swearing to himself that he will tell her everyday until the end of time.

Olivia's eyes met his and her lips curled into a smile. "And I love you," she replied, making the same promise to herself.

The chance of existing is slim, the chance of existing at the same time as your soulmate must be next to impossible. Moments pass and everything comes to an end. But sometimes—just sometimes—the universe works in favour of love. There might be ups and downs, laughter and tears, falling in love and heartbreak, but they had to believe that everything would work out. 

Their lips met and their souls intertwined.

They were going to be the next big thing. They were going to top the charts, and win Grammys, and break records in their sleep. They were going to make a name for themselves, screaming in the face of a world that refused to listen. They were going to give back to those who saw the best in them and thank them for giving them a chance to prove everyone wrong. They were going to make meaningful connections through the music they spilled their hearts into.

But the universe had other plans. The universe decided that their love was simply too big for one lifetime.

They didn't play the Orpheum.

They didn't fulfill their dreams.

They didn't become heroes.

But of course, there is a silver lining in everything. Maybe it was a good thing that they never became the heroes of their self written story. Because heroes get remembered, but legends?

Legends never die.