It took an entire year for everyone to move on from the day they lost two of their beloved friends. It felt quite weird, not Hearing Evelyn’s early morning’s greetings, and not seeing her stroll down the path that led to Niki’s bakery, where she liked to hang out. The old L’manberg got all patched up, all the holes and opened caves after the explosion got covered up, and all the buildings were restored, thanks to the help of Ranboo and Tubbo, who worked hard on restoring the land, that slowly got consumed by the egg. That’s right, Ranboo. The enderman Halfling has found his way to the SMP a couple of months after the siblings’ deaths, and immediately clung onto Tubbo, seeing some familiarity within him. Tubbo reminded him of someone he used to know, but due to his shortness of memory, he quite couldn’t put his finger on the name. He wished he could remember, because the aura of Tubbo’s matched a certain person’s, that he wished he’d kept in mind better than he has.

 However, it took even longer than a year for the blond mercenary to find out that the guy he’s been looking for has joined their SMP. He had no clue, until one day, when he was strolling around the old L’manberg. The blond wanted to check on the museum, where both the gravestones of their friends were, when he found him. They boy has been looking over the picture frames hung around the obsidian walls – the last reminders of what once used to stand there, the last pieces of the once beautiful nation. There was nothing left of the old L’manberg, other than the piece of wall, and the museum itself — the nation got buried along with the siblings. That day, Punz found himself entering the museum for the first time in months, taking his spot next to the boy, both staring at that one picture of Evelyn, in the dark blue uniform with a bright smile up on her lips, bright pink hair wavy, short, and with two front strands tied into braids that went around her head and tied into a small ponytail in the back. Every single morning, the blond woke up from the same dream, where he’s seen the pinkenette in front of him, begging him to braid her hair, and telling him about her adventures from the day. He wished to hear her laughter once more, to thread his finger through the kid’s hair as they shared stories from their adventures. He wished he told her sooner; how much she reminded him of his small sister that he’s had to leave for business. He wished he told her more how much he cherished her; she always listened to him and he appreciated that. Too bad he didn’t tell her often.

 “Is this Evelyn? I once met her and she looked nothing like this. She looks so… happy here…” The tall kid asked, turning his head to look at the blond, who offered a smile, while unclipping a necklace from around his neck. He remembered their promise, and refused to break it. Ranboo watched, confused as of what was happening, mismatched eyes focusing on the pendant hanging off of the gold. He recognized the necklace – the boy gave it to the girl years ago, when the elytrian helped him from the lake. That one day, he thought the villager kids accepted him into their community, and went to play with them, feeling like a child for the first time ever. That day, he felt genuinely happy, for a couple of hours, before the said kids trapped him in the middle of a lake. He’s spent hours crying, begging anyone to help him as he was too young to teleport, and too weak to row the boat. Fear of water consumed him whole and he soon broke down into fits of cries, until the kid with wings swam over and helped him out. He’d be forever grateful for her help, her kindness.

 “She wanted me to give you this, Ranboo. She died a year ago, protecting her brother.” The blond said, his voice quiet, as he handed over the piece. It felt almost like an impossible task, letting go of something so valuable to him. Sure, he still had the feathers. In fact, they were tightly tied to his sword pouch on his back, and the earrings dangled from his ears, yet the necklace made him feel somewhat safe; comforted, as if she stuck with him in some kind of a way. The mercenary hid the piece of gold in the teen’s large, clawed hand and closed it, a gentle smile up on his lips. His blue eyes held some kind of mystery behind them, Ranboo thought as his eyes looked down at the necklace. It definitely did not hold that shine it once used to, and the once bright Eye of Ender was now fading in color. Ranboo frowned slightly, remembering the Eye looking much brighter, bluer and shinier. Punz watched, as the kid tapped the eye with one of his claws, the Eye flickering and shining with greens, reflecting off of their faces.

 An unknown force made the necklace float and shine brightly, as it transformed itself into something new, something mysterious, something powerful yet at the same time fragile, breakable with a single touch. It turned into a medallion; a couple times bigger than the original piece but still small enough to comfortable hide underneath the hoodie Punz wore. The medallion opened itself, and the necklace landed in the blond’s hands. Inside, was a live picture, moving. Evelyn.

 The mercenary watched in amazement, holding the piece of gold in his hands gently, too scared of breaking it if he’s held it a tad bit tighter, cradling it as if it were a piece of glass. The picture almost made him cry — the girl looked so happy behind the thin layer of glass. He watched, as the elytrian’s black wings flickered behind her body, a delicate arm rising up and waving at him from behind the glass. Her face was scrunched up in a delightful smile, eyes squinted with how bright her smile spread.

 ”This is my only memory of her. Even though I forget easily, she has stayed, Wither knows why. Keep it, guard it, because this is a piece of my mind that is in your hands right now.”

 Punz watched, as the pinkenette smiled brightly, waving her hand at him once more, as if to say goodbye, as if she was about to run away somewhere far away, somewhere where he couldn’t find her anymore. The man focused on the live picture and noticed the mountain behind the girl, everything clicking instantly. Wilbur’s ghost stayed in new L’manberg, because the best and happiest years of his life were spent there. Ghostbur, as they called him now, stayed here because all of his happy memories were lived through here, he has said it numerous times. Punz thought about it for a couple of minutes, Ranboo waiting silently, awaiting anything to come out of the mercenary’s mouth. He waited expectantly, almost seeing the gears run behind the mercenary’s eyes,  as they focused on the medallion, before a knowing look grew on his face.

 “Evelyn’s ghost must be at Phil’s house.”

•••

fin.