Side Character's Curse

Epilogue

Six months later...

NISHA

"Isha, where do you want to go next?"

"Hmm." I spun, swinging my bag around and almost hitting a small child. "What if we go to the park?"

"The park?" Priya gestured to the sky, where grey clouds were gathering to form a thick blanket. "In this weather?"

"Yeah, I know." I sighed and shrugged as we mingled with the crowd. "But I feel like we've exhausted every good store today."

She looped her arm through mine and flashed me the familiar, big sister smile I had grown up seeing. One which assured me she would do anything to help me. "Well, to the park it is then. I brought an umbrella with me, so we should be good to go!"

"Should we also get something for Aarav–" A shoulder collided into mine and I tottered back. I turned on my heels, trying to get a look at the man's face. Not him.

It was a habit I'd developed, along with jumping whenever I heard a timer go ding!. I would check the faces of passers-by, just in case. But... it was never him.

Maybe he didn't find another portal. Maybe he never made it back. Maybe... maybe he didn't want to– no. I had to keep hope. I had to keep believing he would find a way into my world because he'd asked me to wait for him. The boy I knew would never ask something like that lightly.

I'd also, sadly, lost my dragon-shifter powers, which made it impossible to cover the large distances I could before. However, it was a small price to pay for freedom.

"Hey." Priya tapped my arm, squinting in worry. "You good?"

"Yeah, yeah." I blinked, snapping back to reality. "I just... I thought I saw someone I knew."

Droplets landed on our joined arms and, soon, buckets of water cascaded down. People let out groans of dismay, holding bags and objects over their heads as they dove for some form of cover. The streets were alive with frenzy and Priya opened the umbrella, angling to shield us both. She yelled and pointed to the nearest store and I nodded frantically, wrapping my trench coat more securely around me.

But then...

I looked back. I couldn't explain why, but the hairs on the back of my neck stiffened and a tingling sensation erupted into full-blown butterflies in my stomach.

A young man stood stock still in the centre of the mania. His leaden gaze locked onto mine and crinkled at the edges. Corpse-ash grey hair.

My hands clamped over my mouth and I squealed, tearing myself away from my sister and ignoring her shouts as I sprinted towards him. I dropped my bags somewhere behind me.

"Mango!" he cried out, arms spread wide. "Oh, how I've–"

"You idiot boy!" I bellowed, pushing him with all the strength I could muster. "You stupid, stupid boy!"

His eyes widened in surprise and he fell into a puddle. Water splashed nearby pedestrians and soaked half my trousers. "Woah, hey, I get you're mad and I'm sorry–"

"Mad doesn't begin to describe how I feel! I'm sorry I lied, Mango. Wait for me on the other side. Do you have any idea what I've been through the last few months? Any idea at all?"

Rowan had the audacity to laugh. He caught my fingers and pulled me down so I was kneeling by him. "I missed you too, Mango. A lot, actually. I'm sorry for keeping you waiting."

I couldn't hold it back. I swung my arms around his neck and hugged him so tightly not even the rain could get between us. He inhaled deeply, burying his nose in the crook of my neck. His heartbeat thudded through the thin cloth of his shirt, ticking in time to mine.

"Hey, by the way." Rowan's lopsided grin brought back many memories. "What's your name?"

"Nisha," I replied.

"Nisha," he repeated, bumping his forehead against mine and closing his eyes. His hair darkened with dampness and I pushed it away from his forehead. "It suits you. Nice to meet you, my name is Rowan and I... would like to take you out for a mango ice cream."

***

I was eating a mango when the proposal happened.

Except this time, it was my proposal.

It was a delicious mango with a juicy texture which dribbled down my arm and stained the front of my shirt. I was all sweaty after a workout, and my hair was in a tangled knot at the back of my head, but Rowan declared I'd never looked more beautiful and got down on one knee. Unfortunately, he didn't have the best balance and toppled over midway through his speech. But it was the thought that counted.

He also beat me to it by two hours.

There was no rush for the planning, no matter what my family said. It would take time to recover from the trauma. I would wake up in the middle of the night, convinced I was trapped in another story and I needed to wander around our apartment to remind myself of reality. Rowan would have nightmares of being forgotten and wake me up at odd hours to check. But slowly and surely, we were healing.

We had time to craft our own happily-ever-after, to fill the remaining pages of our story with whatever we desired. And no one was going to stop us ever again.

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Total word count: 28 307

Whew! Finally completed the story just hours before the deadline! Thank you everyone for supporting me over the last few months, especially to the Mango Cult who encouraged me to write this in the fist place 😊 

I hope you guys liked it! 

Stay safe and thanks for reading :)