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2 years later

The scent of musk and autumn drifted through the wind as Ellie sat on a pile of fresh leaves in front of a stone carved “Jeremiah Roselind”.

“Miah, all that’s happened came too suddenly, you leaving me behind with a world full of strangers, with a prom and graduation I couldn’t imagine without you beside me,” she said tears rolling off her face uncontrolling

tracing the engraved  ‘Miah’ over and over again, fingertips red and rough from tracing the rigid edges of the uneven stone.  “I made new friends, new memories and I-I met a new guy” she stuttered. “He’s kind, gentle, and most of all understands me to a deeper level,” she said, running her hands through her red hair.

“Oh” came a deep voice.

“Miah?” Ellie said startled looking around frantically trying to source the familiarity, only to no response.

Sad she was just hallucinating, she continued: “He asked me to prom, I-I said no but I’m flattered.” “Could you blame me though?” A gust of wind swept over the quiet grasslands lined with flat stones, a green leaf landing in her palm.

“I don’t Ellie, I don’t blame you.” the voice replies faintly.

The trees swayed as if Miah understood she was moving on.

Before leaving Ellie said: “A-and your best buddy Carlton misses shooting basket shots with you, he’s always under the court at Percy bouncing the ball emptily staring at the gym doors hoping you’d walk through them again someday” Ellie continued.  “Oh and Percy Academy made it to the finals, though I doubt the team lives up to its name without Jeremiah Roselind” Ellie mumbles before getting up to leave as the last of the dark gold rays of today’s sun is swallowed by the tall mountains.

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“I'm sorry for your loss” Marion whispers while hugging Nelia.”The hug was warm and soft. ”I know you don't know me that well but my daughter was very close to your son.”
“Oh, you must me Ellie's mom ,how is she feeling?“ “its pretty rough, she hasn't been wanting to do much, getting her to school has been hard.” “she also didn't tell me about Jeremiah until after the incident.” Marion said looking down at her shoes, they are dark and bland. “ i wish i was able to meet you too before this.” “Ellie and Jeremiah had a great connection you know.” “she was very supportive for Miah.” “i am truly sorry your loss and i hope you feel better soon.” “thanks Marion.” they hugged again and walked away.

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A year later

Today, I decided to walk home from school. It’s been about a year since Jeremiah passed, and I just needed some fresh air from the long day at school. Long walks like these reminded me of Jeremiah. Cold and icy wind blowing in our faces, Miah's locks flowing behind his shoulders. But, today, the wind was strangely still. As I got closer to my house, I saw a huge construction site on a side street. “It won’t hurt to take a different way home today,” I mumbled to myself. I saw a brand new net, and bright white lines being painted on the concrete. “Wow,” I said under my breath, as I paused my movement. “A new basketball court? Miah would’ve loved this.”

“Loved what?” Jeremiah spoke out of nowhere.

“Jeremiah?! I shouted as I looked around. “How are you here, I- where are you?”

“I’m right here Ellie, you don’t have to see me to hear me.” Miah said calmly.

“Oh, Miah, I’ve missed you so much. I said as tears started to fill my eyes. I don't even know how I’m talking to you but wow I-”

“Ellie,” Miah interrupted. “My Ellie, I’ve missed you too. I miss you so much.”

“Miah. Today has been one of those days where everything reminds me of you. Well, it’s more like every day. This long walk I decided to take, this new basketball that's being built now. Every time I’m reminded, It just brings me so much sadness.”

“Well, Ellie, isn’t that a good thing?” Miah questioned.

“What do you mean by that?” I said, with a confused look on my face.

“I mean, if nothing reminded you of me, then I’d just be,” Miah paused. “Forgotten. And, you wouldn't want to forget me.”

“Oh, of course, I wouldn't want to forget you! I exclaimed. Just when I am reminded of you, it's hard, because you're gone.”

“I’m still here Ellie,” Miah spoke softly. “I’ll always be. You can still be sad when you think of me, but just be happy that you remember me, and all the moments we shared.”

“I like that way of thinking Miah. Thank you.” I said smiling.

“Now, let's walk closer to this new court,”  Miah said with joy in his voice. “I want to see it up close with you.”

“Sure thing, Miah.” I said as my smile grew larger.

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"Hey." Carlton walked out onto the porch. "Everything good?"

"Oh, hi," Ellie replied, briefly breaking her stare out to the gold sun above to greet Carlton. She quickly went back into her blank trance. "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Carlton said, an inquisitive accent in his voice.

"Uh… yeah."

"Well.. okay then." Carlton took to sitting on the deck railing on Ellie's left, while she stood stiffly with her hands lightly holding the railing. After moments of virtually uncomfortable silence, Ellie spoke again.

"Do you ever still think about him sometimes?"

"Hm?" Carlton slowly lifted his head to look at Ellie. "Do you mean–"

"I mean Miah. Do you ever think about him?" Carlton could see Ellie grip the wooden railing even tighter. Her pale, light skin let her veins be seen clearly. She was tensing up.

"Of course I do," he answered, with a calmly somber tone. "I still think about him. After all, how do you really let go of a friend so easily from first meeting to.. to their passing?" Carlton could feel his hands hold the rail a little tighter too.

"Where do you think we'd be if he was still alive?..." Carlton pondered a second.

"Hell if I know," he said in a joking tone. He exhaled, staring out to the street too. "I try not to focus around thinking about him too much."

"Why?" Ellie's voice broke a little.

"If we all stayed thinking about the past, we would never move on. After two years, I realized. It took me the other four to fully do it. And this is where I am now." Carlton moved his head to face at Ellie. "And you need to know by now that you'll never move on if you keep on letting yourself think about him." Ellie turned to face him, with her eyes lightly glimmering from tearing up. "We all need to move on eventually. The past hurts and will always hurt, but six years without him… six years is enough to accomplish so much, but it's nothing if you keep on dwindling on the past." Carlton pushed himself off the railing and began to walk inside the house. "Remember that, Ellie."

Later that day, she spent her afternoon staring at the golden, orange sunlight. She stared until the sun disappeared over the houses, disappeared over the horizon, disappeared into the nothing of night.

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“It was cold when we came up out of the subway. I shivered and Miah put his arm around me for a second, then let it drop back at his side. Miah looked at me with a face written worried on it. “Ellie, remember how you said your sister was coming to town? ”  I viewed the townspeople in under 15 seconds, making sure I got a glimpse of everyone.

I gazed my eyes at Miah, saying, “Yeah, why? '' Praying the next words won't be..  “I think she's right there.. walking towards us.” Miah whispered, grabbing my hand.  I heard a voice from a distance saying,  “HEY ELLIE!  It came from Anne. She was standing right in front of Miah and I. Gazing down on our hands locked in together. I saw her face, she looked.. calm. WHY WAS ANNE CALM?! The words running through my head. HEYY ELLIE, what you're not going to say hi back to your favorite sibling? Said Anne. Oh, ahh, HEY ANNE!! Still in shock, she didn't pull me away from Miah. Does she even know who he is?? That's he's my- Hey Ellie, who's the guy next to you? I froze. H-H-his mmia-. HI I’m Miah, Ellie's boyfriend. Miah said loud and proudly. Nice to meet you.. Miah! I'm Anne, Ellie's favorite sibling. Isn't that right, Ellie? Y-yeah! Mmmhmm. Soo uh, what are you doing here Anne?? OH yeah that, well,  was actually here to pick up some pastry to surprise you and mom before coming home. Ahh well I guess you'll only be surprising mom then, right haha? Yeah, you're right haha, but what are you doing out here in Brooklyn, said Anne. I froze again, looking at Miah. Oh, we were just stopping by my hou– THE PARK! Yeahh yeah, the park! Did I just cut off Miah.. so i wouldn't get glares from Anne.. Miah looked at me, I whispered sorry Miah, please bear with this. He nodded. Ohh haha okay Ellie, I'll see you and Miah around! Stay safe, and don't worry about mom. She walked past us while giving me a wink..”

by - aliya

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“Come on Miah-man, how many times did I tell you to not run in white neighborhoods?”

He lowered his head and foled his hands giving Miah a sad and questioning look.

“A few times daddy, I know. But  I promised it was for a good reason.”

He smiled, placing his hand on the necklace Ellie gave him, smiling thinking of her.

“And what reason is that?”

He smirked wondering what he’d gotten into to make him forget what his father told him.

“I met a girl, dad.”

He spoke slowly, he dropped the necklace and scratched his head. He wanted his dad to accept her, Ellie.

“My man! What's her name boy come on now tell me about her, what lovely lady had my kid actin’ a fool.

He smiled and rested his hand on his knees, talking fast and excited.

“Her name is Ellie and she goes to Percy with me, she’s a really sweet girl and momma loves her-”

His father cut him off with a chuckle. He looks less excited now.

“Ellie huh, she’s from percy?”

“Yea, she's jewish too she even gave me this.---”

Miah smiled and held up the star of david necklace hanging from his neck,

“--- and we have history together.”

“Alright Miah man, if you say Nelia likes her she must be a good kid. Just be careful okay?”

He slightly frowned, grabbing his son’s shoulder. Miah knew what his father was talking about. Miah had no clue how Ellie’s family would react to him being black. But he was willing to meet them, because he loved Ellie.

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“Sorry for the late introduction, I’m Norman. So how did you and Miah meet?” he smiled as he sat in an overstuffed chair. “Oh you know, we both go to Percy and he happened to switch to one of my classes. We started talking from there and we became friends,” I answered. “I see, so what were you guys up to before coming in wet?” he asked with curiosity. I sipped my glass of water and placed it on the table next to me. The water soothed and refreshed my throat. “We were just talking with Carlton until all of a sudden, the weather changed and it started to rain like crazy. Lucky for Carlton, he brought an umbrella with him but we had to rush over because Miah said that his mom may be busy with working on a book.”

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This took place after miahs funeral. In central park where ellie and miah hanged out.

“Im not sure what to do.” Ellie says in a breaking voice.

“Me niether.” Carlton says while trying to hold in tears in his eyes.

“You know me and miah were best friends until this happened…” Carlton said leaning against a tree

“I know” Ellie said while leaning towards another tree.

“I dont think i will be the same after miah.” Carlton said. “

“I wouldnt blame you but we gotta move on eventually.”

“I know.” Carlton said.

Ellie felt the tree remembering this is where they kissed. And the park is where miah died.

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Ellie collapsed onto the couch, staring into space. Marion sat down next to her. They sat silently for a few minutes before Marion finally spoke.

"I don't know what to say."

Ellie didn't speak, just twisted a ring around her finger and stared at the floor. Again she was reminded of how young Marion was. She didn't seem like a mother, someone to confide in who would know what to say. But she tried anyway.

"I don't know what to do, now that he's gone. It seems like forever since we ran into each other in that hallway, but at the same time it feels like yesterday," She stared at the bookshelf, which was a warm red-brown color. She could smell some kind of chicken dish baking in the oven, and outside she could hear cars passing by. Everything was normal, except for the fact that she would never see Jeremiah's bright green eyes again. "I feel alone now- I've felt alone all my life, and when he was there, it was like for the first time in a while someone actually saw me," she turned her head and saw Marion looking over at her. She looked sad, but her eyes were warm. "I know that I don't fully understand this, or most other parts of your life. All that I can do is tell you that I will be here for you, not just for the big things, but whenever you need or want me." Ellie said nothing, but she leaned into her very slightly. It wasn't much, but it was a step.

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I heard a knock on my door.

“Hello? It's me, Anne,” She said in a soft voice before opening the door. “Mom told me what happened.. I just wanted to say I’m sorry, for everything.”

I didn’t answer. I kept laying facing the wall, buried under my blanket.

“I'm sorry for how I reacted when you told me about Jeremiah, I wish I could have realized how much he meant to you.” Anne said with a shaky voice. “What I said about his locks was unnecessary and rude.”

I could tell she was at a loss for words and didn't know what to say.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it. It’s too late for sorries.” I said, as a tear rolled down to my pillow.

Raindrop hitting the window, as it was the only sound in the room for a while. It went silent.

That was the last I had talked to her.

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Ellie, I am sorry for lying to you about who my parents are, but the reason I did it was that I wanted you to like me for me and not like me for my parent's fame and money," Jeremiah said

"Miah, I understand that, but I would rather you told me and let me decide how I would react instead of you telling me how I would react and if I were to know that you were going to die today on the way to my house I would have let it go I am so sorry that I did not let it go," Ellie said with pain in her voice as she looked over at Jeremiah.

"Ellie, I am sorry I just wished we could have been together longer," Miah said as he could barely speak.

"Don't be sorry. I should be the one that is sorry," Ellie said, holding back tears.

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“I know that in our relationship there is a gap, The gap of me being black and you being white so we can’t stay comfortably in front of people.” Jeremiah spoke with a shattered voice.

Ellie looked back at Jeremiah with her pretty face and responded that, Remember the poem Jeremiah, “A million stars up in the sky, one shines brighter and can't deny, a love so precious a love so true loves from me to you, the memory will remain from our first hello to our last goodbye that will be never forgotten, and no matter how hard the wind blows or how many leaves fall our tree will remain beautiful.” Jeremiah said “Yes I remember I will never forget that poem, the words from the poem  will always be in my heart.” with his hand on Ellie shoulder. Jeremiah sees the poem written on a long tree root like the one they first kissed in central park.under green leaf under and the orange basketball next to the tree root. Ellie and Jeremiah said with soft voices at the same time “ I’ll never forget you, never ever. Not even by mistake.” both wiping tears off.

Jeremiah, like Wilt many many years ago, loves playing basketball, basketball is Jeremiah's life then Ellie comes into Jeremiah's life. Jeremiah said “we are true lovers, the lovers that will support each other from the first hello to last goodbye, the lovers that will remain in the green tree forever. No matter how hard things are, we will support each other forever.” “Ellie replies with a soft voice each time when we are trying to remember each other we should just look at green trees, that's the best way to remember each other forever.”

Jeremiah said “thank you Ellie” Ellie replies “ No you dont need to thank me thank you a lot Miah for making me feel special person thanks for everything.”

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I sip sparkling cider in the corner at Anne and Stacy's commitment ceremony. I hear marions sobs and their vows. Anne looks so beautiful and happy right now. She is staring at Stacy and holding her hands.Marion looks happy too, she’s come to terms with Anne and even looks proud. Anne looks over and starts walking towards me. I feel nervous as I watch her, she smiles and waves but I can't muster up the courage to wave back.

‘’ Hey little sis, you look good.’’ she runs her hands through her short hair.

‘’I look good? Anne, you look stunning.” I say.

Anne smells like Pepsi, reminding me of our childhood. Personally I've always been a fan of sprite but Anne has always had empty Pepsi bottles in her room scattered around.

Annes quiet for a second before she takes a long breath and says ‘’ I cant imagine losing someone You love Ellie, Losing stacy would break me and i'm so sorry about Jeremiah.’’

I'm stunned. That's the last thing I would expect her to say. I don't cry, I smile, smile and hug her. She holds me tight.

“I'm sorry Ellie.

When Jeremiah died I cried, I cried and cried for hours and days. I cried so much I dont have any tears left to cry.

‘’I felt horrible after that call, I kept on calling. It was always Marion answering saying you couldn't come to the phone.What a terrible sister I am.  For so long after that I couldn't stop thinking about what I said. I wish so much that I could have been there to help you after. Ellie I think you and jeremiah had true love and i'm sorry I didn't support you.

Jeremiahs watching over me I can feel it, he's happy for me.

‘’I missed you Anne.’’

‘’I missed you too Ellie, I missed you so much.’’

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Ellie, I’m sorry,” Anne said quietly

About what,” Ellie said, her voice raising.

“I know you’re angry, but at least try to forgive me.” Anne said sadly.

“And why should I do that,” Her voice settled.

“I ghosted you. I left you just like mom. Right when you needed me the most. I knew it was a risk to come here but I need this, I need to know that this can be fixed.”

“There will always be a scar”

“I know, but-”

“Scars can fade.”

“Ellie, Thank you”

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