Hello everyone. I just want to thank you ALL for sticking around with me through this story, even though I am horrible at updating. This has been such an honor to write and to have so many dedicated fans. I love you all so much, and have read and laughed at all the comments that have been about me making your cry or laugh or shocked. I just love it when you told me of how I drew those emotions from you, because that is really why I write. To be able to get an emotional response means so much to me, because I have fallen in love with Abigail as much as some of you have! She is my little baby that I will always love...

This is the final chapter. Please enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's probably my favorite chapter yet, just because of the ending... I almost cried writing it myself because it was so sad to think about it.

I am not sure if I will be writing another fan fic until my FINALS ARE DONE WITH! AHHH!

Nineteen Years Later…

A man gazed out ahead of him, staring across the snow. It was mid December, and the chill of the morning bit at his exposed nose and cheeks. He tucked the black scarf tighter around his neck and pulled the brown hat farther down his head, beginning a steady march forward as he abandoned the small path he had been walking on.

He stood in front of it, shaking.

His legs gave out beneath him, leaves crunching under his knees.

He stared at the name before him, his hand slowly reaching out to it.

He tried to grab the name, scratching at it, screaming at the top of his lungs.

He slammed his fists against it, crying and yelling, ripping at the dead grass beneath him.

The man's eyes wandered across the land before him, the familiar bright green grass now covered with a white sheet of fluff. He shook his head; the man hated snow. It was cold and wet and reminded him of dark, familiar places. A long black coat surrounded his frame, hiding his shivering form from the world around him. His breathes came out jagged and rough, almost gasping for air as he sucked in shards of ice hanging in the air around him.

He bowed his head, hiccupping and sniffing, attempting to compose himself.

The man picked up the red rose he had tossed aside. One of the leaves had bent.

He slowly began to try and fix it, shoulders bowed, singing quietly to himself.

He rubbed his black gloves against his cheeks, trying to rid them of the undeniable blush upon them. Embarrassed, he looked around making sure nobody was there to witness this. However, only angel's eyes and the blank stare of silence met his gaze, so he continued on.

And now I'm all alone again nowhere to turn,

No one to go to without a home without a friend without a face to say hello to

And now the night is near

Now I can make believe she's here

Sometimes I walk alone at night

When everybody else is sleeping

I think of her and then I'm happy with the company I'm keeping

The city goes to bed

And I can live inside my head

On my own

Pretending she's beside me

All alone

I walk with her till morning

Without her I feel her arms around me

And when I lose my way I close my eyes

And she has found me

The man didn't know how long it had been since he had come to this place. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Perhaps it was? It surely felt like he lived a different life since then. He looked to the sky; but a white shield hid his view from the heavens. All around him was white; he felt trapped and alone. Not a single shade was seen but this pure essence. His gaze would almost slip past the bumpy texture of the rocks about him, blending into the snow so well that he accidentally smashed a hand into one of them. A hiss escaped his lips as he ripped off the glove, exposing a wide gash on his first knuckle. Blood began to ooze from the wound but he continued forward, un-phased, never breaking his stride.

In the rain the pavement shines like silver

All the lights are misty in the river

In the darkness, the trees are full of starlight

And all I see is her and me forever and forever

And I know it's only in my mind

That I'm talking to myself and not to her

And although I know that she is blind

Still I say, there's a way for us

He watched as the blood began to run down his hand and slowly drip onto the snow below him, marking his path for the world to see. The man was proud of this, this ability to bleed, so much so that he grew disappointed when the cold around him froze the blood in its tracks, leaving nothing but red paint upon his palm.

He slid the glove back in its place and continued onward.

I love her

But when the night is over

She is gone

The river's just a river

Without her

The world around me changes

The trees are bare and everywhere

The streets are full of strangers

Names surrounded him. He tried not to look at them, fearful of recognizing one of them. The man doubted he would, but he did not wish to mourn over more than he needed to. Today was meant for one purpose and one alone. He shook his head, trying not to think about why he was there, walking towards what he had already visited a thousand times over… He shook his head as he pinched the brim of his nose; oh, how he had dreaded this day, this pitiful day.

The man knew exactly why he was here. He thought back as far as he could remember, to the first time he had laid his eyes on her. A small laugh escaped his lips at the thought, and he began to whisper words that he had not uttered for years:

I love her

But every day I'm learning

All my life

I've only been pretending

Without me

Her world would go on turning

A world that's full of happiness

That I have never known

He rapidly approached his destination, far too quickly than he had wanted it to be. But he continued on, pushing past the bells and angels, trudging forth through the disgustingly white snow. The man kept his eyes to the ground as he stopped in front of the cause of his everlasting pain, his enduring suffering. He refused to look up and show the world the tears that had begun to roll down his cheeks, he refused to show the world his red eyes and burnt face.

Embarrassed and afraid, he released all of his emotions into the barely audible words,

I love her

I love her

I love her

He collapsed to the ground, slowly raising his eyes level with the words etched in the large stone he had refused to acknowledge for nineteen years:

In Loving Memory of

Abigail

1981 – 2002

Pianist and Loving Friend

Erik's hands slowly clutched the snow around him, squeezing the last of his tears from his eyes,

But only on my own…

Erik slowly pulled a long red rose from the inside of his jacket, carefully resting it in front of the grave. He stood up, eyes looking to the sky, for he knew that was where Abigail really was.

"Hi, Abigail." He choked, "its b-been awhile."

A soft breeze blew by. Erik shut his eyes for a moment, feeling the wind around him, even if it was just for a moment. Somehow, he wanted to believe that it was her.

He dug his heel into the snow, "I'm sorry that I haven't come by. I just… M-miss you… So much. I-I can hardly bear to be here now, seeing what you have become…" he looked down to the grave, shoving his hands in his pockets, "You were so beautiful and full of life. Now you are just this solitary rock, surrounded by death… It does not suite you, Abigail. I do not like it."

He sighed, bowing his head before looking back up to the heavens, "You were right. About everything. About the world, about life… About me. I've changed so much because of you, especially after you were gone. I had to fend for myself for awhile. I was lost and confused… I didn't know what to do or how to act anymore. I was a total mess."

Erik laughed, scratching his head before speaking again, "But then something happened. One day, about eight months after you passed away and I buried you, I was out at the market getting something. I was just walking along when I heard… I… I heard our song, Abigail. I heard our duet. It was just ringing in my mind, and somehow I knew you were around. I looked into a window and I even saw you there, just standing there, watching me. You were smiling at me. Just smiling. But the closer that I came, the less I could see you. Once I got to the window, all I saw was my own disgusting face shining back at me."

"As I stared into the window, I realized something. You will never leave me, will you?" Erik chuckled, shaking his head, "I owe you far too much for you to simply leave. Not that I would let you. I enjoy having you pester me inside my mind. Some days I can even hear your voice in my head, pestering me of my attitude or actions. I think that it was you who told me to fix myself, to be honest. So I did."

Erik rubbed the side face, completely smooth and free, "I made myself into a man even you would have liked to see, Abigail."

"I promised that I would fix you." Erik dropped his hand in shame, biting his lip before he continued, "But even now, I feel you within me. Do you think that this counts? Can you ever consider what I did for you? I no longer leave my home fearful of what others will see me as, for I am one of them now. Are you happy for me, Abigail? Do you still love me?"

Erik knelt down, taking off his hat as he whispered, "Even after what I have done? Even after I have betrayed you?..."

"Daddyyyy!" yelled a voice just as a small body slammed into Erik. He gasped, and then chuckled softly as he grabbed the neck of the small boy's green jacket before he could run away. Erik picked up his son, tossing him into the air before catching him safely into his arms.

"Don't go running around now Doug. Stay close to Papa."

The small boy's large blue eyes opened almost as wide as his enormous smile, showing off the large gap where his two front teeth should be.

"Yes Papa, Yes Papa!" he squealed as he squirmed his way out of Erik's grip, running around the nearby statues, basking in his freedom.

Erik watched the boy with the fondness only a father could produce of his son, "Oh Abigail, you would love him… He is just like you somehow. Every day he reminds me of you more and more simply because of his naturally high spirit and simple attitude… At first I was confused at these similarities, but now that I think about it, it shouldn't be that confusing after all." Erik closed his eyes, nodding his head peacefully to the child, "You look after him as you look after me, yes?"

"Is this her, Erik?" came a soft voice from behind. A smooth hand slipped it's way into his hand, and he clung to it.

"Yes." He whispered, feeling her move next to him. Erik opened his eyes, looking down at the woman beside him. A black fur hat covered the majority of her long wavy light brown hair. Her pale cheeks were burnt from the cold, and she shivered in her deep red coat that stopped just above her knees where her black boots began. She smiled sadly as she looked up to him.

"May I?"

Erik nodded.

The woman released his hand, stepping forward to rest on her knees at the foot of the grave. She gazed at the name engraved upon it, seeing the emotion and pain that it caused Erik. Pressing a hand to the markings, the woman spoke not to the stone, but to the heart.

"My name is Alicia, and I married the love of your life."

She paused, hesitating for a moment.

"Erik has told me so much about you. I have heard so many stories of your bravery and kindness, of your will to survive and to endure though every challenge that came upon you. Until the very end, Erik has told me that you stayed true to yourself, playing the piano until your dying breath. I can only regret that I could not have met you in person, for I feel that I would have loved to be friends with you. I am jealous of your wisdom and humility. I wish that I could say that I come close to touching Erik's heart as much as you have, but I dare say that I have barely scratched the surface of what you mean to him. You and Erik's love is something that I thought only existed in fairy tales; he told me of your reliance on one another, of how you supported one another though the time you spent together…"

A few tears began to appear in Alicia's eyes, but she ignored them.

"I wish that… I wish… Oh, I don't know. I simply cannot wish that I never met Erik and that you never died, and that you two lived happily ever after. I am far too selfish for that. But in a perfect world, I believe that was what was meant to be."

"But it isn't a perfect world, is it, Abigail? No. The world is far too selfish. It saw something so pure and beautiful as the love that you two shared, and it killed it with the bullet that entered your body. I believe that it was almost unnatural to have such compatible people…" Alicia tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, swallowing the lump in her throat. Her voice began to shake, "But I want you to know something Abigail. And I want you to know that this is coming from the bottom of my heart, even though you do now know me, and I do not know you. I know that we have never been allowed the opportunity to trust one another, to laugh or cry together. We have never been allowed the chance to even consider who was the better option for Erik and who would have been able to care for him with more love and caution, because I have no doubt it would have been you, and I would have gladly stepped down."

Alicia stared at the grave, determination in her eyes, "But what I want you to know is that I have tried my hardest to live up to the level that you have set for me. I love Erik with all of the heart that I could possibly give him. He is the sun of my world, and I like to believe that I am the moon in his. While you shone as the sun in the best of his days, I pray that I will shine him through this eternal night that he lives in without you."

"I will care for Erik as long as he allows me to, and only as long as you allow me to. I pray for you to one day show me a sign of approval or disproval, for I have eagerly awaited it since the moment that Erik has told me about you."

Alicia stood, raising her head to the sky, "Abigail, I hope you are watching down on Erik now. He has become so inspiring and free, all because of you. You alone healed him of his eternal damnation simply by letting him see the light. He is healthy, no longer bound by the chains of a curse set upon him by the Devil himself. You yourself are to be blamed for this miracle, and you alone are to thank for the man that I have fallen for.

Alicia turned to a dumbfounded Erik, wrapped her arms around him and held him close. She nuzzled her head into the crook of his neck as he placed a warm hand upon her head.

"Thank you, Abigail. I hope to see you one day, and to return Erik to you safe and sound, where the three of us may rest in peace in one another's company as angels in the sky."

Love is complex and confusing. People take such a strong emotion and put it into such mushy and cheap stories, thinking that it is a play thing to be tossed around.

I don't think this way.

I hope you enjoyed the ending, even though I did not go with the sappy classic ending. I chose a more confusing and complex ending, almost on the verge as unrealistic. However, I believe that Abigail and Erik living happily ever after is even more unrealistic.

See you all soon ^_^