Firefly

Epilogue

Elena

Fourteen years ago, I was in a car accident with my mother. I made it through but my mother didn't. She was a passionate neurosurgeon with chestnut brown eyes that matched her hair, a certain part of genetics that I inherited myself. I am Elena Summer, Dr. Veronica Summer's daughter.

Or so I was told.

This is how my story came into being. I was three years old without a memory of my mother who laid down her life to save mine, nor with a memory of myself (the person whose life she saved). All my life, I have blamed myself for being the villain of the heroic love story of my parents.

Although the accident was way beyond just traumatic, I also lived in a world where the love story of my parents was my favorite fairy tale. Silverton was not reality. Silverton was a mere covet that helped me get through the major part of my teenage years without obstacles. Coming to Cadford was my life's awakening moment. Yes, I had questions about myself, my mother, and my memories, but Cadford gave me more questions rather than answers to explore. 

Not to mention how the exploration itself was an adventure by itself, the last thing I imagined was falling in love in the process of it all. Life in Cadford hasn't been rainbows and sunshine (the way I would've wanted) but it was real. Unhidden honesty, unveiled secrets, with a very heartbreaking but corporeal past (the way I needed). 

My father made headway until he nearly survived a heart (acidity) attack. My brother kept the ball rolling with a mind so twisted but with intentions too pure. My best friend ended up falling in love with an ignorant, callous girl who not only rejected him but also failed to recognize his love in the first place. 

My mother wasn't the person I was told she was. My father withheld so many secrets, it became hard to count. I broke more parts of myself than I fixed. The wounds didn't have time to heal before new wounds burned on them. But Cadford taught me to live with the wounds. This town taught me that one doesn't need to be fixed in order to survive. Broken people can live too. 

Despite all the shower of reality that has completely altered my view on fairy tales, a fragment of me still likes to believe that my mother played a huge part in sending an obdurate Justin Castor, who regardless of how he lived his life, was bent upon mending mine. 

Justin Castor, the name alone stands as a paradox. If anyone can be both the talentedly smartest person and a dumb jerk in a room, it would be him. For someone who had so much knowledge about reading people, behavior, and analyzing their personalities, he surely sucked at executing it with kindness and care. Contrasting personalities of being shamed by insecurities with questionable defense mechanisms and a boy whose mind is more thoughtful than a poet whose heart is robustly jumping to grab the first chance to care, to love, to laugh, and to trust were his inner battles. 

Maybe the rides weren't just about dark skies and two darker souls roaming the city in a dark car. Maybe everything wasn't about All The Bright Places in Cadford. Maybe bright was the wrong word we hooked onto. 

The WONDER showed us All The Dark Places of Cadford, with possibilities and clues. Maybe the Butterfly's Nest was also a rotating collection of life stories and memories, not just books. Some steps up the ladders of The Wheel may have led to a few steps deeper into the past, and the fireflies in the Edge Water Lake might not have lit just the waterfront, but also my memories. The laces on the Lace Cave could have tied strings to unspoken wishes, or the dots on the Before I Die wall were meant to be connected. The Stone Castle could've been a showdown of fantasy, the Runway a portrayal of how long the path to my story really was. What if the Red Light Party wasn't just a vibing theme but a caution for when I need to stop? What if the balloons and roses on the graves in the Cemetary that night were a celebration of peace? What if, my mother doesn't like her petals plucked out of her daisies because for once, she's whole and she's got the whole flower to offer to me?