Epilogue (Chapter 15) - Tris

"You look so pretty." Christina smiles, clipping my necklace at the back. I stare at myself in the mirror, still hesitantly. That young girl look I always had has now developed, making me look older than I used to. I look more mature. I smile.

"I'm so excited about this, you know. When you told me I was so psyched out!" She laughs.

A flashback of Christina jumping around the room, laughing and crying and still managing to talk at about a thousand miles an hour fills my head and I laugh. She was very excited. Another flashback of me telling Marlene and Uriah who were ecstatic, even Lynn managed to crack a smile. I knew this was what I wanted a long time ago. But it was definitely worth the wait.

I smile to myself, who would have thought?

My mother enters the room wearing a long grey dress; even in that Abnegation dress she still looks beautiful. "Oh my," she smiles. "You look wonderful."

She pins a bit of my hair back gently and this time the flashback is of me and her, except she is cutting my hair carefully while I sat in front of the mirror as small blonde waves fell to the floor around me. But that was long time ago.

My father also walks in. I can see he has made an effort to look like he has not been crying, but he'd never admit it. Crying is an act of selfishness, and my father is anything but selfish. He walks over and squeezes my mother's hand as they both look at me.

I can see them now, only a few years before, sitting at the dinner table doing the exact same thing. My father was worried and my mother was comforting him. It was a small gesture yet meant so much. The image brings tears to my eyes.

I take one more look at myself in the mirror. I wear a long black dress because it suits me better now, than any colour ever could. It is long, with big ruffles at the bottom which make a noise when I walk. I leave the room and wait patiently with my father. I grip his arm tightly, for support. I feel dizzy but I know I am just nervous. So I do what I always do now when I am nervous. I remember.

As we begin to walk slowly, I focus not on what is ahead but on the people sitting around me, and try to remember as much as I possibly can to keep myself from worrying. The first person I lay my eyes on is Caleb.

Sweet Caleb. My sweet only brother whom I thought I knew so well yet was suddenly shocked I didn't. The brother who I spent my whole life assuming was born for Abnegation only to watch him choose Erudite. My biggest mistake was assuming, a mistake I forced myself not to make again.

Eric is also there, and I force myself not to scowl as I pass him, I never liked him and I don't think I ever will be able to. I remember the time he dangled Christina over the edge of the chasm or ordered Four to throw knives at me.

I quickly move my eyes onto the next person. Marcus. Why is he here? I glare at him, my bright excited eyes turning into piercing darts. I hate him as much as you can hate a person. Memories of his belt stinging my forearm fill my head, but I shake them out. Now is not a time to think of him.

I realise how far I have walked and look up to see Marlene's pretty eyes on mine. I love Marlene, she was always so kind to me, and she was one of my closest friends. I look to my right to see Uriah standing on the opposite side to her. I grew to love the two of them and I remember the time Uriah shot a muffin on top of Marlene's head and I smile.

Christina, my bestest friend, always there for me, even when I didn't deserve it. I remember the time we first met. On the train on choosing day. She was the one to pull me into the train, and without her I wouldn't be where I am today. I look at her and hope that somehow she can see the thankfulness in my eyes.

I watch Will who is watching Christina. Will, the boy who protected me from Peter, Molly and Drew. He was always kind to me and looked after me, just like I know he will for Christina now.

And finally, as my father leaves to sit down and I take his hand and stare into those beautiful deep blue eyes I remember. I remember when he knelt down and asked me to marry him, holding out a beautiful ring with the biggest stone I'd ever seen. I remember I had cried and he cried too.

After everything, I now never stop remembering. These memories are always on my mind every single time of the day. They are the things that stop me from ever forgetting again, they are the things that hold my life together, they are the things I am grateful for every day.

He looks at me and smiles the way he always does when I look at him the way I do now. I am his and he is mine and that is the way it will always be, no matter what.

Speaking of remembering things, I just remembered when I wrote the first couple of chapters thinking this whole story was no good. I didn't think anyone liked it and I was planning on deleting the story the next morning. Except when I woke up, I had so many reviews and I remember jumping around the room so excited. I was so happy.

So I would now like to thankyou once and for all for being the reason this story ended I am so so grateful for all your support and constant reading of each new chapter as I posted it. Thankyou even if you didn't review, even your individual view went a long way into this continuation of this story and for that I am so very grateful.

I realise I have finally finished this story and it's extremely exciting because I now plan to move on and keep writing and continuing to hear from all you wonderful readers out there. So if you ever have any requests or ideas for me I will be more than happy to hear from you and don't forget to keep reviewing!

And finally, thankyou to Veronica Roth, for writing the most amazing books I have ever read, thank you so much.

Lots of love,

Lel xxxx