Page 174 of Ghost Ribbon

So believe me now.

Take your time. Grieve me. Hate me. Cry. Stay in the dark for as long as you need to. But eventually, sweetheart, please come out.

Don’t make grief your home. Don’t turn my absence into the only thing left of you. Don’t let losing me become the death of you too.

Please heal. Please live. Please smile.

Even if it hurts at first. Especially if it hurts.

Because I need you to understand something. I don’t want to be the reason you stop living. I want to be the reason you remember that you once did.

And when you think you’ve lost me completely, look up.

Find the stars.

I’ll be there.

I’ll be the brightest one, I promise. I’ll burn so fiercely that even through your tears, you’ll know exactly where to look. And when you find me, I’ll look back.

I don’t care how far away I am. I don’t care what exists between this world and whatever comes after it. You will look up, and I will look back.

So when you’re lying in our bed and the other side is cold, look at the sky. When you walk past our kitchen and expect to hear me there, look at the sky. When you wake up and forget for one terrible second that I’m gone, look at the sky.

I’ll be there.

When you smile again, I’ll see it. When you cry, I’ll know. When you love someone again, I’ll be proud of you. And when you finally stop hurting every second of every day, don’t feel guilty. That isn’t forgetting me. That is the last gift you can give me.

I am still here, Alexei.

Somewhere beyond your reach. Somewhere beyond the world that kept me for such a short time.

But still here.

Still looking at you.

Always.

Your little star.

IV

Part 4

Please come back.

Please come back.

Please come back.

Please come back.

Please come back.

Please come back.

Please come back.

Please come back.