A Matter of Time

By. Dr. Cultural Studies

Epilogue

"Remarkable news for one Tennessee family today, just some evidence that hope and perseverance... really does pay off." The image on the screen changed to a picture of a young woman with dishwater brown hair and a nice smile. Her arms were thrown around the neck of a young man that was wearing military fatigues. "This is Dr. Michelle Daniels and her brother, Army Sergeant Corey Daniels. On June 26th of 2015, two years ago, Michelle went missing from her suburban Kansas City community college. She worked as an adjunct professor there for two years before her sudden disappearance. There were no leads and it seemed that there was simply no trace of where Dr. Daniels had gone. Some feared the worst."

"Some said she was buried around there," an elderly man commented while straightening his leather vest. A red, white, and blue bandana was tied around his long silver hair. Underneath his image, it was explained that this was the grandfather of the missing woman. "Some said that they saw her get taken. Some said that she took off. I never believed it. Never believed any of it. Ever. They can always come home."

"Well," the screen returned to a middle-aged news anchor. Her smile was wide and seemingly ecstatic with the story she was about to break. "After two years of no news and endless searching, Dr. Michelle Daniels has been found. That's right. She has been found. It's a story nothing short of amazing because somehow…She was found overseas."

"Dr. Michelle Daniels was found in Berlin, Germany at five hundred hours—that's five this morning." A Kansas City police spokesman said as cameras flashed as sweat beaded his brow. He cleared his throat. "She was in critical condition and is being treated at a local hospital as we speak. We cannot discuss her injuries in detail, but efforts are being made to assure her survival and ultimate full recovery. Evidence of previous injuries indicates that she has been under extreme duress during the time that she was missing." He shifted and looked directly at the cameras. "It is requested that the media give her and her family time to recover. And, please give time for the police to perform a proper investigation into her disappearance. Thank you."

"We are all just happy to hear that she will be returning home alive." Shifting the blond turned to look at another camera. "Now, Michelle's condition has been lifted from critical to serious. Her injuries are still extremely life-threatening, but doctors are making headway in her treatment. We will keep the public posted on these developments as we receive them." The woman straightened her papers and smiled widely again. "What a miracle this must be for her family. Two years without a trace and back in the blink of an eye. They must be over the moon." She paused and brushed the hair from her face. "Our thoughts and prayers go to them and to Michelle herself as they battle through this recovery."

The remote was lifted.

A button was pressed and the television went black.

Author's Section

Holy cow! *Take a deep breath, let it out.*

I cannot believe that this is over. That ending has been planned and semi-written for months, but this feels so emotional. It's the longest story I've ever written and the story that I am most proud of. It was such a joy to write and I feel like I accomplished something with it. I learned so much. So much that I am proud to know about history and about my writing. Now, Michelle is alive for me and I feel like I know history in a different light now. It's great. It's a great feeling. I hope that everyone gets a great feeling from reading it. You know, that soaring feeling in your gut?

I want to thank everyone who came on this journey with me. I appreciate every person who has left a review, favorited, followed, or silently read along. It always makes my heart beat faster when I get reviews in my inbox or when I see someone silently reading as the view count goes up. I hope you each enjoyed it.

Also, I am connecting this account to my old account. I have stuff on there from four years ago. Feel free to check it out. I wanted a fresh start.

Now for the announcement everyone has been waiting for:

Yes, there will be a sequel. (Insert squeals of delight, hopefully.) The first chapter will be posted soon. It is titled "A Matter of Course." Now, I won't say anything more. I will let you be surprised when you go look (because, with any luck, you will). The concept has me extremely excited. Who knows? There might already be some clues hidden in this story because…this sequel has been planned since the very beginning. From its inception, this was meant to be a two-part series.

Once again, thank you everyone! Please leave me some feedback/reviews/cookies/flames.