Epilogue: In the End

Jake and Sakari returned home with their family and everything went back to normal, well as normal as their family life could be. Many changes occurred over the years. Silvia ended up helping Lily continue her father's work at the lab. Xander joined the local police squad and dedicated his life to protecting others. Jake and Sakari had several more children. In total they had four boys and three girls.

In his ripe old age of seventy-three, Jake became ill. One night a few weeks later, with his family at his side; Jake passed away. The entire town mourned the loss of a hero. Jake was given a special burial and laid to rest near the shrine built for Sakari many centuries ago. That evening…Sakari had a dream. Jake slowly approached her. He seemed so real that she almost thought he had never died and that it was just a bad joke.

"Sakari…my love." He said placing his hand on her cheek. "Please, join me one last time and let us go and watch the sunset."

"I would like to, Love." She replied.

She told the others that she was just going out for a few to clear her mind and get some fresh air. She made her way to the cliff that overlooked the valley. A place she and Jake had gone several times before. She lay in their spot under the old oak tree and looked out over the valley. Suddenly, Jake came and sat beside her. She rested her head on his shoulder as he softly stroked her foreleg with his hand. Together, they watched the sunset for the last time.

When it grew dark, Jake stood and grabbed Sakari's paw.

"Would you like me to take you home, dear?"

"Yes…I am ready to go home."

Xander and Silvia woke the next day to find that their mother was still gone. They set out with the rest of the family to find her. Eventually, they went to the cliff where they saw their mother laying beneath the tree where her and their father would lay. They called out to her, but she did not respond. When they went to nudge her to wake her from her apparent slumber, they found her as cold as the ground around her. They realized that she must have gone with their father and that they would be happy together, forever.

Sakari was laid to rest next to Jake. The old shire was torn down and replaced with a new one. It depicted Jake standing next to Sakari, his hand resting lovingly on her shoulder. A plaque was engraved into the side of the shrine in their memory.

"Here lies Jake and Sakari Stormrunner,

Two special beings that proved that love knows no boundaries between species,

And that even the strongest love will last for eternity."

I hope you guys enjoyed this story. They say a good writer can make you feel what going on in the story and bye God I found my eyes growing wet as I wrote the final chapter. I'm glad to have had you all along for the ride and I hope that you will join me on the many more adventures to come.