23 Years later
Zyan
Jessica and Ava died together, only a few years away from their one-hundredth birthdays. Despite how long Carter and Zyan had seen it coming, they still weren't prepared for it.
It was Zyan who found them. He'd gone down to their bedroom to wake them up and get them to eat at least a few bites of the breakfast Carter had prepared for them when he realized they were both no longer breathing. They'd passed on in their sleep, lying side by side and looking peaceful.
Now Carter and Zyan were standing on the sidelines as the funeral was held.
While they might all have been feeling glum, the sun was still shining bright for a cold day in February, and the sky was of a light, cloudless blue. They kept their distance to avoid being exposed as they watched Jessica and Ava's family and friends grieve for the lives lost. Spirits, fairies, and other creatures were wandering around the cemetery, brushing their fingers over headstones or buzzing around the attendees of the ceremony.
There seemed to be more activity in the area than usual, but that might just have been Zyan projecting his emotions onto his surroundings. It felt like the deaths of these two beautiful women should affect more than the people gathered here. The entire universe should have been grieving. Or maybe it should have been celebrating the lives they'd lived. Anything except the careless attitude, the reactionless nonchalance, and continuation of everyone's existence that it presented.
Now that Zyan looked at the small crowd gathered around the priest, he realized that over the years of the marriage between them, Jessica's and Ava's families had become united, and just like they'd all been present at the funerals of Carol and her husband a short time ago, they were now gathered again to say their goodbyes to their sisters, aunts, and friends.
And just like the last time, Carter and Zyan kept their distance and watched everyone mourn while they stood too far away to make out any of the words being said.
The ceremony was nearing its end when Carter spoke up for the first time since its beginning.
"Where are we off to next?" he asked in a low voice.
"Hawai'i?" Zyan suggested. "I'd like to visit home."
"Okay." Carter reached for Zyan's hand and gave it a light squeeze.
Zyan looked over at him and gave a small, teary-eyed smile.
"They lived a long life," Carter said into the silence.
"They did."
"They were together until the very end."
Zyan nodded.
"We couldn't have asked for more."
Zyan didn't reply. He let the silence envelop him as he watched the ceremony come to an end.
When everyone was gone, but the spirits remained, he gently tugged Carter over to the fresh graves. He looked down at the headstones, wondering if their friends were looking down on them.
"Where's the point in seeing spirits if we can't see the ones that really matter?" Zyan asked, keeping his voice low since anything else would have felt disrespectful.
"I'm sure they can see us."
Zyan didn't respond.
"They'd tell you to smile," Carter went on. "And to celebrate the life they lived, instead of focusing on how it ended."
"I'm sure they would phrase it differently."
Zyan could hear the smile in Carter's voice as he replied. "I don't doubt it."
"I miss them."
"I do too. How couldn't I? But do you regret having met them?"
Zyan shook his head. "No. Never."
"Then that's what matters."
"They changed our lives."
"For the better," Carter added.
"I'll never forget that." Zyan reached out and touched the headstone spanning the two graves.
It felt like a part of him had died with them, but a new part had also been born. This wasn't the end of his story: only a new chapter. A door might have closed, but dozens of new ones had been opened. The possibilities stretched out in front of him, but where it would usually feel daunting and numbing, it now awakened an excitement and curiosity within him.
He'd always wanted to believe that fate and destiny existed, that his entire immortal life wasn't just the result of a coincidence, a mistake, but now as he stood there, remembering the ways in which these two women had impacted and transformed his life, all doubt vanished and left behind a strong belief that meeting them couldn't have been anything but.
"What are you thinking about?" Carter asked, lightly squeezing his hand to draw Zyan's attention.
Zyan let his gaze linger on the names engraved in the headstone for a few moments before he looked over at Carter. "For the first time in decades, I'm looking forward to where destiny may take us."
Carter smiled. A true, honest smile that lit up his eyes and filled Zyan's chest with warmth.
They'd be okay. Just like Ava and Jessica would want them to be.