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honesty. Miaka was still so overcome from everything that she only nodded her head. Marilyn’s eyes met mine for a moment, but she backed away, heading over to Aisling. It was merciful; it gave me another moment to check my tears.
    “Aisling… you are the truest survivor I have ever known. You stand up to every challenge, you’re tough, and you never back down. I admire that about you. I hope that in this next life of mine, I take some of that strength with me. I hope to cross your path again someday.”
    Aisling had listened to all of this with a mixture of emotions on her face. For a moment it seemed like she was actually sad to see Marilyn go. That look of loss passed over her face so quickly that I was sure I imagined it. Then I knew I was wrong when Aisling chose to answer Marilyn’s last wish with, “I don’t.”
    Cutting until the very end, Aisling walked past Marilyn closer to the surf, still waiting for her chance to leave. Marilyn only sighed, still full of endless patience, even for someone hurting her in what ought to be a glad moment. She blinked her eyes, turned her head, and met my face.
    We both crumbled. How was I supposed to do this without her? Did everyone I loved have to be separated from me? We ran to one another and embraced.
    “Oh Marilyn,” I managed to mumble. But my weeping overtook any other words I might have had.
    “Kahlen. Oh Kahlen, just don’t give up. I know it’s been hard on you, but you have to hold on. You’re capable of so much; I’ve felt it from the beginning. You can’t stop trying to live. You can either sit here and mope, or you can let this be an adventure for you. It’s an amazing ride if you just hold on. Think of Miaka. You’ll mean so much to her. You’ve meant the world to me. I think once it all disappears, I’ll still manage to miss you. Try to make the most of this time. Breathe in all the wonders around you. Take a deep breath, Kahlen. Hold on tight.”
    I wept and wept. I wanted to express how much what she said meant to me, and how I would do it all. I would be strong and brave. But the only thing I managed to get out was, “I love you.” All I could think of were those two sentences, my eternal command: Take a deep breath, Kahlen. Hold on tight . It was the second time I had heard them, and both were the last time I had heard the giver’s voice. Marilyn knew that. She said those words to me on purpose. She knew I wasn’t very brave or strong. She knew I’d still need help. But this was all I was going to have.
    “I love you, too,” she told me. She kissed my cheeks and hugged me tight and then walked away. She went to the edge of the surf, pausing once to look back at us all. And then she was gone.
    That was the last time I saw Marilyn alive. She didn’t mention where she would go, but I guessed it would be back to England or America. I was right. In one of my more restless years, I ran across her obituary on microfiche from an Edinburgh newspaper. It had her picture next to the write up. She was radiant with age. Behind the wrinkles, I still saw that classic sparkle in her eyes. The hair might have been gray, but it still curled wildly. She did marry. She had a family. Her life was a quiet one, but it was good. I was happy to have known her.
    I wouldn’t have known this detail except that the article mentioned this, and it made me wonder for a long time after. She had her ashes scattered at Sea. Maybe there was absolutely no reason behind it, but I couldn’t help but contemplate the other possibility. For years afterwards, even though she had passed on, I felt a comfort in the water because I knew Marilyn was there.
    The Ocean had no more instructions for us, and we were free to leave. But there on the beach, Miaka and I simply held each other. Miaka was still reeling from the events that had just passed, and I mourned losing Marilyn with so much strength it overwhelmed me. This day seemed to drag on and on. I couldn’t believe that it was