MADE OF STARS — FINAL CHAPTER

Chapter 7GabrielMy feet are heavy as I move down the sidewalk. I'm heading for the coffee shop because I promised Sinclair I would go there one more time. He's been after me for months, and I keep putting him off. And he just keeps bugging me. Me, a grieving man. But I'm his beta tester.The bell above the door rings and I move reluctantly toward the counter. A young girl turns around. Her hair is bright blue, and her wrists are wrapped in black leather bracelets. She's wearing a purple skirt with black tights and black boots. She smiles at me and asks if she can take my order.Lila.Her hair is a different color, and her clothes are different (I must tell Sinclair about the changing hair and clothing), but it's Lila.  I think I answer, because she nods and jots something down on a pad of paper. And before I know it, I'm reaching into my pocket. I'm pulling out a business card.Sinclair has perfected the cards, three different cards for three different types of journeys. The card I pass to her is a fairly close replication of the original, the one that brought her to me all those visits ago. I don't know how Sinclair has done it, and I understand that this is a repeat of that very first day. He's somehow bent time. He's somehow brought her back so that I can relive this day, as often as I dare."For the jar," I tell her, motioning to the glass fishbowl.She smiles and takes the card. She holds it in both hands, and she stares at the fire. She turns it over, and the magic happens. I'm suddenly standing on the edge of the island, and Lila is paddling across the river, coming toward me.Thank you, Sinclair.I watch as she drags the boat to shore. I watch as she fumbles in the dark.  And I know I will never tire of this moment, this day, even if I relive it a thousand and one times. I step out of the shadows and say, "You came."

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