Epilogue

It had been a full month since the day his sister was kidnapped and at last Bart was well enough to be out of the hospital. The week he had been given was conservative at best, and recovery had been slower than everyone thought. At last, though, he was given a clean bill of health and sent home. Bart had had a lot of time to think about things while he was stuck in that hospital bed and now that he was free he intended to make good on the silent promise he made.

The evening after he got home and had dinner with his family for the first time since the incident Bart excused himself to his room and found his car keys hanging on the nail where he usually kept them. He smiled to himself at how his mother paid attention to little details like that and pocketed the keys. After putting on a sweatshirt he headed back downstairs and out to the driveway where his car waited. As he opened the driver side door to get in he heard the front door open and looked over to see Lisa heading his way.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked with a note of concern.

"I've just got something to do and I'd like to do it alone," Bart said quietly. He got into his car and started the engine.

Lisa looked like she was about to get in as well but he shook his head and she nodded her understanding. Despite having made up with her, Bart was still determined to close the door on this desolate chapter of his life by himself. He backed out of the driveway and drove down the street, watching Lisa shrink into the distance in the rear view mirror. Bart felt slightly guilty for excluding her from what he was about to do but he wasn't sure he would have the courage to say what needed to be said with anyone else around. Springfield wasn't a distinctly large town but it still took him about fifteen minutes to reach his destination. As he slowed to a stop outside the gates Bart knew he had to hurry, the sun was setting and soon the gates would be locked. He parked and got out, hoisting the collar of his sweatshirt higher up his neck to guard against the cooling autumn air.

The gate swung open easily leading to a narrow path laid out in flagstones and overgrowing with moss. However, the grounds were well cared for despite their obvious age and Bart had no trouble following the path deeper in. White marble headstones in all shapes and sizes littered the ground everywhere and if you had never been there before it would be easy to get lost amongst the rows. Bart knew exactly where he was headed though and in less than five minutes he could see his destination, a very large stone situated up on the top of a small hill towards the back of the cemetery.

Now that he was here Bart hesitated, suddenly unsure if he was going to be able to do it after all. His hesitation allowed him to take in more of his surroundings and his breath caught in his throat as he spotted another grave nearby. It looked fresh, the grass just barely starting to grow over it. Before he read the simple headstone he knew instinctively who it belonged to. In this part of the cemetery were buried all the people of any means, including almost all the entertainers. His heart hammered as he approached cautiously and his eyes confirmed what his brain already knew.

"Robert Underdunk Terwilliger" Bart read out loud, scarcely believing this man fit for any sort of burial. Here lay the man who shot him in cold blood, who had killed or warped everyone important to Bart in his life. "Why did you have to be here?"

He stood there for a long moment unable to tear his gaze away from the plot. For a while the urge consumed him to kick the headstone over, to tear down anything that could be used to remember such a horrible man.

"But I can't," Bart realized. "I want to erase you, to make it so that nobody knew you ever existed. But I can't. People would still remember, I would still remember. In the end it wouldn't make any difference and where you are you can't hurt anyone else ever again.

"So instead of forgetting, I'm going to remember you, Bob. Not as the ruthless murderer you turned out to be, but as the kind, gentle children's entertainer most of the world saw you for. Behind your greed and desire for revenge there was once a man who cared enough to try and teach us something. I cannot forgive you for what you have done to me and my family, but I will try to remember you at your best instead of your worst."

Having said his peace Bart found he was able to walk away and continue to the large headstone on the hill. Upon reaching it he had to gawk at it for a moment. No matter how many times you saw it there was no preparing yourself for the gigantic carved bust of Krusty the Clown smiling back at you. This was the very same headstone used back when Krusty had faked his death many years ago. How appropriate, now, that he already had a headstone picked out for when he was actually dead.

Getting over the odd appearance of the grave, Bart sat on the stone bench situated opposite it.

"Heya Krusty, long time no see," he mumbled. Bart stopped and listened to the sounds of the cemetery around him. Far away he could still hear the cars on the road outside the cemetery and the occasional rustle of a squirrel gathering food for the approaching winter. "I never thought it would take so long, I'm sorry I never came to visit but well… you know. Life gets in the way. It's not like you were going anywhere. I'm in high school now, can you believe it? And so is Lisa, if I'm not careful she'll graduate before I do."

Bart chuckled and continued.

"Anyway I told you the next time I'd be here was after I brought your killer to justice and well…"

He glanced back down the hill to Bob's grave.

"Here I am. We got him for what he did to you. Aren't you glad to hear that? I always knew Bob was responsible for murdering you and now he has paid the price. You can thank Maggie for that, though I don't think you two ever knew each other because she was so young."

Bart took a deep breath and winced at the pain from his chest. The jagged scar he now had there would remain for the rest of his life. A strong reminder of what could happen in the blink of an eye. "I have held up my promise, Bob has been dealt with and this entire ordeal is finally behind us all. And while I cannot forget, I think I can finally move on."

He stood up and walked over to the headstone, resting one hand on the corner of it.

"Thanks Krusty, for everything. You made a lot of kids happy in your life, and while your father may not have agreed with how you did it you still did a lot to make the world a better place and that's more than most people can hope for in their lives."

Bart wiped away a lone tear knowing that while it may not be the last one he ever shed it would be the last he shed over this.

Turning away, Bart quickly retreated from the cemetery, not aware in the slightest that his private words were perhaps not as private as he would have liked.

A/N: How very strange to be back to this story one last time after thinking I was done last year. I recently was contacted by another member named Junior Villalobos who expressed interest in translating this story to Spanish so it could be enjoyed by a wider audience. In doing so he voiced an idea which eventually became this and so I would like to give him credit for the inspiration that brought me here today. I do not know why an idea like this did not occur to me naturally but I would like to thank him for helping me to correct and finally put to rest this story.