Chapter 10
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Julia was sentenced to ten years in prison for intentional homicide.
I went to visit my parents‘ graves and shared the news with them, asking them to look after Anna.
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But when I came back, the urn was gone.
was about to call the police when Father Eldridge told me to go to the amusement park to find Cyrus.
It was Cyrus again!
So persistent! What did he want?
When I saw him at the amusement park, he was sitting on a carousel with a bandaged neck, talking to himself as he stared at the bulging crossbody bag in his lap.
“Anna, I brought you to the amusement park! Are you happy? Are you having fun with me? You must be happy, right?
“It’s all my fault for hurting you and Mommy, but I love you both so much, you know, my precious Anna?”
He must be crazy!
When he finally got off the carousel, I rushed up and tried to grab the urn from his crossbody bag.
I was afraid Anna’s urn would break again, so I yelled at him, “Cyrus! You bastard! What the hell do you want?! You kept texting and calling,
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Chapter 10
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pestering me even after I blocked you and told you there was no chance of us getting back together. What do you think you’re doing, stealing Anna’s ashes?!”
Cyrus looked guilty and carefully handed the urn to me.
“I’ve been having dreams lately. Anna is crying, chased by a wolfdog. Every time, I managed to save her in the dream. She begs me to take you and her to the zoo and the amusement park.
“I was afraid you’d say no, so I took Anna’s ashes without asking. I’ve already been to the zoo with her, and now I’m with Anna at the amusement park.”
His voice was choked with emotion as if he had lost the most important thing in the world.
But it was all too late!
I would never forgive him.
I turned and walked away, hearing Cyrus’s desperate voice from behind. “Evelyn… I know I was wrong…
“Can you give me a chance? Just thinking that you’re not mine makes me feel like I’m dying inside.
“I was too immature and stubborn before, hiding my love for you and Anna. Please, give me a chance to make it right. Once we’re together, we can take Anna to the zoo, and the amusement park, and even travel out of the province or abroad.”
I said mockingly, “Travel out of the province or abroad? How come it was so hard for you to take Anna to the zoo when she was alive? Now that Anna’s gone, neither she nor I care about any of those things!
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“Cyrus, get out of my world! From now on, we’ll never see each other again.”
After returning to the church with Anna’s urn, Father Eldridge showed me a news article on his phone.
“Famous Entrepreneur Cyrus Gibson Arrested for Child Abduction at Amusement Park, Diagnosed with Schizophrenia, and Sent to Mental Hospital”
A month later, I saw news of Cyrus‘ death in the mental hospital, where he had reportedly bitten his tongue and taken his own life. The report mentioned that his bed was engraved with the names “Evelyn” and “Anna.”
On the table where he often ate, he had carved, “In the next life, I will never fail you, my dearest Evelyn and Anna.”
Mike transferred all of Cyrus’s assets to me, and I donated most of the money to children’s welfare organizations.
Even in the face of suffering, if we held on to life, there would always be a turning point.
The end.
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