TRIS

(20 years later)

The air rustles by uncomfortably, marking the change between fall and winter. The ground is covered with leaves of every color and the early morning sky is a creamy shade of gray. I look out the window at the lake, once a disgusting swamp and now a bright blue body of water. It is one of the most beautiful things about this place, I have decided.

A noise behind me causes me to turn around. "Annabelle, would you prefer that I help you?"

My daughter looks up at me with an grateful smile on her face. "I'm trying to fix my hair. That would be wonderful, thank you."

Belle inherited my silky blond hair, except it is slightly darker. She has her father's stormy blue eyes with a light blue patch on the left iris, and I'm so happy they were passed on. I still get lost in their dreaming, sleeping, floating color. Her hair is currently frizzy and sticking out at weird angles, so I smile quietly and take the brush from her hands. "My mother used to help me with my hair too, you know. On my testing day, she cut mine herself."

Belle nods, enraptured by the information I tell her. Whenever I talk about my family or the old faction system, she always listens intently, hungry for new information. I'm proud of how wise she is already, and how brave, selfless, kind, and honest. I'm trying to teach her to honor all important values and fix the mistakes of our former ways of thinking.

I take the brush and gently tug it through her hair, moving slowly toward the ends. Her hair starts to calm down, and soon enough it is nearly straight. I use a serum that my brother invented to smooth down the ends, and then I begin to french braid, lightly pulling in piece by piece. She sits still the whole time and doesn't complain when I accidentally pull too hard or hurt her in some way. I finally finish and tie off the end. She turns around to face me, and I am astounded once again by her beauty. She is much more beautiful than I ever was. She shows off many of her dad's features, although she has the shape of my eyes, slightly too big but very expressive. She blinks up at me and asks "How do I look?"

"You look absolutely stunning." I reply with complete honesty. "Wait, let me get you something." I run to the bathroom and grab an eyeliner pencil of that we save for special occasions. "Let's put on a little makeup."

She visibly brightens at the thought of makeup, and she lets me apply the black pencil to her eye. I think of the time that Christina put eyeliner on me, claiming she wanted me to be noticeable, not pretty. Now, as I put it on Belle, she is equally both, and it makes me beam with pride.

When I finish, she thanks me and runs to her room to get dressed. There are still parts of her that are childish and small, resembling how I appeared when I was younger. But there are also parts of her that is very mature and adult-like, sometimes so much that I forget she is still a child.

Before she comes back, Tobias strolls into the dining room with his bathrobe on, appearing to have just gotten out of the shower. "Good morning," he greets me, and he presses his lips against mine for a short kiss. His hair is still wet from the water, and water drops fall onto my palm.

I smile back at him. "Good morning yourself. Are you excited for today?"

"Yes, this is very exciting. Annabelle will probably be very nervous."

"Yes, but I think she'll be fine. She's strong."

"A trait she took directly from you." He grins back at me.

A small blush spreads on my cheeks, and I wave off the compliment. After twenty one years of being with Tobias, I still love him as much as I did the day he washed me in the Abnegation bathtub and I uttered those words to him for the first time. He still brings a smile to my face and joy to my heart every time I see him, and every day I spend with him. I remember an image of my parents smiling at each other while making the bed together when I was a young girl, and I know they would be proud of me now. I have found love with my husband, a selfless kind of love that comes from our Abnegation backgrounds, but also a brave, fearless relationship that takes us to new levels every day. I am also so proud of my children, and I know my parents would be as well.

My son Caden wanders into the room. He still has on his sleep clothes, and he rubs his eyes with his fists. "What time is it?"

"Time for you to get moving. Remember, you're a big boy now." I remind him. "Today's a special day for your sister."

He peers up at me with his small eyes and curious expression. "Oh yeah, it's Belle's testing day." He doesn't really know what that is yet, but he's trying to learn. I hope he will be as smart as his sister someday, and as virtuous as I hope they will both turn out to be. Caden's still seven, but he learns and grows fast, and I predict he will be even taller than Tobias since he is already over four feet tall.

Annabelle comes back into the dining room with a nice, casual floral dress on. Tobias says good morning to her as well, and I prepare breakfast for the family. After we all eat, I help Caden get dressed and then we're off.

Before we leave, Tobias gives Belle a gift. She unwraps it cautiously, and inside I see the water statue that Evelyn gave him when he was 16 and just leaving Abnegation. "I want you to have this." He tells her. "My life changed tremendously when I was 16, and I'm sure yours will too. This is a good luck charm of sorts, and I hope it helps you whenever you need it."

She smiles happily and embraces him. "Thanks Dad, wow, this is really pretty! I can put it on my dresser."

I walk up next to Tobias and sling my arm around his shoulder. "You know, my life changed quite a bit when I was 16 too. I became a much better person, I learned a lot about selflessness and bravery, and I met your father." He kisses me after I say that, and I can't help but smile. We always show our children small examples of physical affection to show them how much we love each other, and I hope to inspire them to find someone they love just as much.

Belle nods, and looks down. "I hope my life is just as successful as yours."

"Don't think in terms of success, think in terms of growth." I suggest. "I know you very well, Belle, and I know you're going to be just fine."

She smiles, and on that note, we walk out the door together as a family.

Tobias and I still prefer to take the train from place to place, so thats what we usually do. Although the factions have been disbanded for decades now, we still follow some of their old rules and customs that are embedded into us. Many of the former Dauntless families join us on the train, and I find Christina and Amar near the back of the train car.

Christina waves toward me, and we make our way over there. "It's a big day for someone!" she announces, looking down at Belle. "Annabelle, are you excited?"

She nods vigorously. "A little nervous too."

"Don't be. You won't be surprised by your results." Christina replies

Amar agrees. "You're smart, Belle. You'll be fine."

Olivia peeks out from behind Christina with a huge excited grin on her face. She's Christina's eleven year old daughter, and she is just as loud and talkative as her mother, but I can't help but love her. She looks up to Belle as a role model, and Belle often gives her advice about things. Christina and Amar have two other children, nine year old twin boys, Owen and Liam. They are close with Caden, and I see them playing together a couple feet away from us.

The train arrives soon after that, and we all get off together. Now that everyone is able to take the trains, it stops at every stop in a civilized manner instead of forcing people to jump off. I miss it sometimes, the thrill I got from landing on my feet. But I know why the change is necessary, or my children would have not been able to ride when they were younger.

We find Cara and George waiting by the entrance to the building. Cara is trying to restrain her youngest, Eva, from running toward us. They have two children, Jacob, who is five, and Eva, who is four. Jacob runs toward Caden, Owen and Liam, and they huddle together in a group. Eva peeks shyly at Olivia and Belle from behind her mother.

"Tris! I've missed you, how's it been?" Cara greets me. She just went on a vacation with her family to another city called Denver, and we haven't seen each other in two weeks.

"I've missed you too Cara! How was your trip?"

"It was great! I've never seen mountains before, but they were huge here!" she explains.

"That's what Caleb told me, when he went to visit." Caleb, my only brother, the one I named my son after, who is now married to Susan.

"Yeah, it was wonderful. I hope we can take another vacation soon, but they're so expensive, you know? Anyway, how's Belle doing? Ready for her test?"

"I think so. She seems a little worried."

"Well, she'll do fine, I know she will."

Just then, we hear the chime of the clock, announcing the time.

"I guess it's time to go." I say. "Belle, c'mon!"

She comes toward me with a nervous look on her face, and her forehead seems slightly green. "Belle, you know this isn't really a big deal, right?" I say to her. "All this test does is say what job would be best for you in the community based on your intelligence and hobbies. It doesn't even have to decide for you, it only points you in the right direction."

"I know, I know." She nods her head vigorously, her cheeks flushing. "I'm just scared I'll get picked for a bad job, like garbage disposal worker or something."

"Well, if that happens, then you can just pick another job."

"Yeah, I guess so."

She sighs, looking down at her feet, and then she looks up confidently. We walk into the building together, leaving everyone else behind us.

My life changed for the better when I was sixteen. I learned so much about myself and about bravery, selflessness, and sacrifice. Now, we have a new system and a new world and new families that we are raising up in the midst of everything. I hope that my daughter will learn as much about values as I did, and will grow to become an even better person than me. My mother saved me in so many ways, I want to do the same now that I have children.

I have overcome all my weaknesses, now it's time for me to let others do the same.