“Wil, you don’t know what you are talking about. Please don’t,” I plead with him, trying to reason him out of doing something incredibly stupid, tears pooling in my eyes.

He locks eyes with me. “I’m sorry, Miri. But you and I both know that it’s for the best,” he whispers, his voice breaking. “Please, Miri. You’ve got to understand.”

I think I see tears in his eyes but I can’t be too sure as my vision is blurred. A tear escapes my eye and rolls down my cheek. I didn’t even bother brushing it away.

“Miri. Please don’t cry,” he breathes, wiping my tears away with his thumb.

“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Key says gently,” But do you want me to give you some time before I delete you or not?”

I’m not quite sure if I’m glad that she is not being sympathetic or not.

“Just do it.”

Key nods before walking away, probably towards the panel. The sounds of typing and computerised beeps fill the air.

I shake my head, denying the fact that Wil just made the worst decision of his life, not like we’ve had much experience with life in the first place. But still. I know he did what he did because he just wants me to be safe, but it still doesn’t change the fact that it hurts a lot.

I feel like my heart has been shattered into a million pieces and nothing, nothing at all, can repair it.

“Wil. Please don’t do this to me. We can find other ways to solve our problems,” I mutter, every word that comes out is agonising.

He puts on a sad smile, trying to seem strong. But he can’t fool me. I can see right through him. “Don’t worry. Everything is going to be fine.” I can see it in his eyes that he doesn’t believe it himself.

I gaze straight into his all-too-familiar hazel brown eyes. He looks at me with the same warmth as he always does. However, this time around, I can see fear in it as well. I know he’s wearing a smile to make me less nervous and upset, but it’s not working. I can tell how afraid he is. He’s afraid of what is to come. And to be honest, I am scared for him too.

“Wil,” I try again.

He shakes his head. “No, you can’t change my mind, Miri. I’m sorry. Keeping you safe, that’s what’s important. It’s either me or the both of us.”

“But-“

“No. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Miri.”

He doesn’t bother holding back his tears anymore. But even through the sadness, he still manages to put on a smile. The more I see him cry, the more I do. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into a hug, caressing my hair in a comforting manner. As much as I enjoy the embrace, I pull away.

“I’m sorry. This is too overwhelming for me to handle,” I say softly.

He doesn’t reply.

“It’s done,” Key’s voice drifts into my ears from the other side of the room. “It just takes a while to process the command.” She walks up to Wil and places a hand on his shoulder. “It’s nice meeting you.”

Aries comes over as well. “It’s been a pleasure knowing you,” he says quietly.

Wil nods in reply. “Thank you. It’s been a pleasure meeting you too.” He pauses. “I don’t mean to be rude, but can you give Miri and I some time alone? There’s something I need to tell her before I… You know.”

They nod and leave the room. I don’t know if they go all the way to the foot of the stairs or just halfway, not that it matters. As much as it hurts to be in the same room as Wil right now, I am grateful for this moment, however short a time we may have.

“Miri, remember the first time we met?”

I nod. “How could I forget? The first time we met. The time when we first got our names.”

He shakes his head. “No. That wasn’t the first time we met.”

My eyebrows knit in confusion. “It wasn’t?”

He shakes his head once again. “No. We met once before, but we didn’t communicate.”

“When?”

“You don’t remember it? Not at all?”

“Umm…” I search my brain for the memory I can’t seem to be able to grasp. “Wait a second,” I say after a while. “I think… I think I remember.”

*

I opened my eyes again. Unlike the last time, I wasn’t strained down to the metal operating table. I stand, finally able to look around the room. Surprisingly, there isn’t a single furniture or item in the room aside from the table I was previously lying on.

I took a step forward, nearly collapsing to the ground. My arms reached for the ground, successfully regaining my balance. I got back on my feet and walked to the door. My hand reached for the round doorknob. I attempted to twist it open. However, it didn’t budge.

I should have been experiencing panic as I couldn’t leave the room but for some reason, I didn’t. It might have been the drug that was injected into my bloodstream the last time I was awake. I headed back to the table, noticing something I didn’t before. A folded piece of paper with my name – or, at least, what they addressed me by – written on it was placed right in the middle of it.

I picked it up and unfold it, my eyes quickly scanning the contents of it. It was written in black and the handwriting is sloppy. There were some smudged letters and blotches of ink on the paper, but not too much that the words were illegible.

“Experiment 782.

We are happy to have you as a part of our project. We want you to feel as welcomed as possible. We would have you know that you play one of the biggest roles in our project. Without you, it would be impossible to succeed.

Thus, you are free to explore the compound for half an hour after you have awakened. After that, you are required to go to your room. Someone will fetch you at the end of the half an hour to escort you to your room.

Enclosed with this letter is a key to allow you to exit the room.

Have a pleasant stay here.”

No one signed the letter. It was almost as if the letter was sent anonymously. But then again, it probably was. My eyes wandered to the metal table. True enough, there was a key. A silver key.

I picked it up and brought it to the door, unlocking it. I didn’t see the point of bringing either the letter or the key, so I left it where I found it. I didn’t think I would get in trouble for that.

I stepped out into the corridor. Just like the room I was previously in, the walls and ceiling were all white. If my eyes weren’t already adjusted, it would be blindingly painful to look at.

I walked down the empty hallway, curious at what I might find. Much to my disappointment, all I saw were doors. An endless amount of doors in this seemingly endless hallway. I wondered where all these doors led to, but I figured I wasn’t allowed into any of them.

All of a sudden, someone bumped into me and I fall to the ground with a ‘thud’.

“I’m so sorry.”

The person who knocked me over extended a hand, an offer to help me get back to my feet. I accepted it.

“It’s no hassle,” I replied, looking at the person.

My eyes landed on a boy, perhaps around my age. He had ebony black hair and chocolate brown eyes. He was taller than me and he had the most dazzling smile I had ever seen, given I hadn’t had much experience with smiles and that this smile was that of guilt.

“I’m so sorry once again. It was an accident. I didn’t see where I was looking.”

The guilt on his face was so eminent that I couldn’t help but smile. “Like I said, it was no trouble.”

He nodded his head in reply. “I shall be off then. Maybe I will see you again?”

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly. “Maybe.”

He gave me another smile before heading on his way, back the way I came, and I went on my way too. And just like that, I had met someone new. I had a feeling that my chances to see that boy again were slim to none but why couldn’t I help but hope that I would?

*

“It was the time when I bumped into you by accident in the hallways,” I whisper.

He nods. “Yeah.”

“I… I can barely remember that incident.”

He shakes his head. “It’s fine. I understand. It’s only because you were new, right?”

“Yeah.”

We stand awkwardly in silence for a while.

“Come here,” he says.

He opens his arm and I walk right into them, right into the warm embrace of my best friend, one I know that I will miss. He pulls me close to him, holding me tightly, almost like he never intends on letting me go.

I want to say something but I don’t know what or how to phrase it. It’s almost like my mind has gone blank. My heart skips a beat. “Wil. Can I tell you something?”

“You know you can tell me anything,” he replies immediately.

“I love you, Wil. As more than just a friend,” I blurt out.

My eyes widen with shock at what I had just said and blood rushes to my face. Why had I blurted that out? I didn’t even know what I was about to say? Even so, I never would’ve expected me to say something like that.

Even so, I knew, the moment those words escaped my lips, that it’s true.

I had expected Wil to push me away or something. Much to my surprise, however, he hugs me tighter.

“I’m sorry,” I mumble. “I wasn’t thinking about what-“

“Shh,” he breathes. “It’s okay.” A pause. “I love you too, Miri.”

He says something else, though I didn’t catch them. His hands go to my waist and I wrap my hands around his neck, gazing into his eyes one last time. I can feel my eyes watering.

“Shh…” he says one more time before pulling me closer and leaning in.

I close my eyes, waiting for the moment his lips finally touch mine.

But it never does.

Slowly but surely, I feel his grasp on me disappear and I knew, just then, that he’s gone.

And that he’s never coming back.

I never even got to say goodbye.

I suck in a deep breath, trying to calm myself down, my legs giving in, collapsing to the ground. It didn’t work. Tears stream endlessly down my face. At first, I tried to wipe them away with the back of my hand but after a while, I gave up, burying my face in the palms of my hands.

I hear Aries and Key’s footsteps as they enter the room. One of them – I don’t know who – rests a hand on my shoulder, trying to comfort me. However, I just shake my head.

“Please. Wait for me on the ground. I need some time alone,” I croak.

“Take your time, Miri,” Aries says.

“Thank you.”

And with that, they leave once again. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t grateful. This is something I have to sort out on my own.

Wil.

Wil is like a brother to me. He has been there almost every step of the way. He understands what I’ve gone through. He understands the horrible experiences I have had back at the facility. He understands me more than anyone ever will. He knows me better than I know myself.

And now, he’s gone. And it’s almost like he never existed.

No one will ever remember him. Soon, Aries and Key will go back to their everyday lives and I will be left alone. Every single day, the memory of Wil will haunt me, not only in my sleep, but in everything around me.

How am I ever going to live with myself knowing that the reason he deleted himself is to keep me safe?

“Don’t worry, Wil. I will always remember you,” I whisper although he isn’t here to hear it. “Goodbye, Wil.”

A tear escapes my eye and I brush it away.

I take in another deep but shaky breath of air, calming my accelerating heartbeat. Once my breathing returns to normal and I have collected myself, I exit the room, stealing one last glance at the small room before descending the stairs.

I finally heard what he said to me, the words I thought I didn’t catch. His last words to me are still lingering in the air, almost as if he had said them another time before I left the room.

“Miri. I have always loved you.”




Do you like it guys? This is the last chapter of their story. There's going to be a short epilogue after this though so stay tuned?

Please tell me your opinion of the story in the comments below. I'm working on two (Maybe three) novels now, though I'm not sure which one I am going to post next (probably UGWT spin off) but no matter which one I post, I can tell you one thing, it's definitely going to be a slice of life. :)

I hope you will continue supporting me. Thank you so much for staying with me for this long. We're almost done :)

Lots of love <3