The last chapter of my story is here! It’s gonna hit you hard, so better sit down. Ha!
***
Chapter 25
28th February 2015
Dear Diary,
Joe felt helpless. He learned from local television that his beloved had been killed in the end. He had learned a little Polish, so he understood the message partly… He wrote to me that he was going to visit her grave. I don’t know how he found out where she was buried, but somehow, he found out… He got into the car and drove ahead. I guess that grief blinded his eyes with a veil of tears, and that’s when he lost his vision, lost control over the car, and collided head-on with a truck. Unfortunately… He died on the spot.
I’m feeling desperate. Alice is gone. Joe is gone. Neither is Laura because something in me died right with them. I killed them both. I killed my friend out of jealousy, and because of it, I also killed my dear Joe. I’ve lost him forever. There is no help for me anymore…
I don’t know if he knew it was my fault. I don’t know if he actually reached her grave… All I know is that I made a mistake. I wished and was glad to have Joe all to myself again, but… I was wrong. I know it now. I acted like a madwoman trying to get him back. I loved him so much! It broke my heart to think that we’re not meant for each other, and I must forget about him… Now it’s even worse because I have no hope left. Hope died right with Joe…
Today I’m writing for the last time. I must confess to what I have done. Maybe I’ll find relief for my soul in prison. Maybe they’ll say it wasn’t my fault because I did everything I could to help Alice. I don’t know… All I know is that I can’t live this way anymore. I feel really bad about it all. I feel that there is no more life for me. It’s just over. My Joe is gone… He was the most important to me… My career doesn’t make sense anymore when he’s gone. Nothing makes sense anymore…
*
I went to their shared apartment today. Joe gave me keys that belonged to Alice before, so I could always come over and talk to him. I was viewing things that belonged to both. Among all these items, I found the song entitled Love Kills written on separate sheets of paper. It seems that they wrote a song together that was a farewell to the past. I think so because it’s about unrequited love, about crushes that are regretted. And last words suggest that you have finally found the right person. I even found the recording on a computer in their home studio. They have a funny password, but I won’t say what it is because it’s too obvious…
They both sing in this song. It’s a rock vibe. This song is sung fast, it almost sounds like a rap. How sad I am now… They will never finish it. No one will ever hear their common child called art… I want to cry, but I will rewrite the lyrics of this song here:
*
Love kills
My heart was in pieces
You set everything on fire
I guess you really liked it like that
But now I’m ready with my revenge
Now you can run away, yeah
*
Falling for people like you
Is the biggest mistake
Yeah, I did it twice
And it’s something I shouldn’t have done
Love kills
*
You came and walked away
It was meant to be like that
Now I see I’ve never cried
Maybe it was never real
And now I really don’t care, yeah
*
Looking at people like you
Makes you go blind
Yeah, I know it now
It’s something I shouldn’t have done
Love kills
*
Now I know it was the wrong guy but
It doesn’t matter anymore coz’
I have you now
It’s meant to be
It’s golden
It’s fine
Love can’t kill me anymore
Coz it’s you
And I
Forevermore
*
I’m still at their apartment and I have this diary with me. I’m writing and thinking. I’m thinking and writing. I’m thinking about my life. At first, everything was perfect, and I don’t even know when it stopped being like that… I don’t know when, but I just got lost. My life could have always been extraordinary, but it ends the way it ends…
But it’s actually funny. I’ll call the police and tell them to come here because the killer always returns to the scene of the crime. This is the victim’s apartment, but it fits perfectly anyway…
Yeah, I’m sitting here looking at all of this, and I feel like a killer. I feel like my hand killed them both. It may not be entirely true, but my feelings about this are the only truth that can exist…
I’ll put you aside for a while, diary, and I’ll call the police. But I’ll be back before they come for me.
*
I’ve just found an engagement ring. Such a beautiful silver ring with a huge diamond and smaller ones around it. I want to cry even more now… Joe wanted to propose to her… And I ruined everything…
Yep, I called the police. They’ll be here soon… They’ll find me and take me away…
I’ll put you next to Alice and Joe’s song then. Maybe one day someone will read you and understand why my life turned out the way it did. Maybe people will hate me less then. Maybe my friends and family will forgive me for all my sins one day.
Oh, I can hear sirens… I can hear them coming for me. I can hear footsteps echoing coming down the stairs. I see flashing lights outside, and the sun has already set. This twilight and these lights will stay with me for a long time…
Goodbye, diary. My life was awesome until I got lost. It’s time for me to go.
*
Epilogue
5th May 2015
The most famous criminal in the world – Laura Brown – was sentenced to life imprisonment for committing the double murder of Alicja Skowrońska and her unborn child. The accused committed suicide in her cell shortly after hearing the sentence. She was nineteen.
The Police Headquarters in Warsaw is in possession of the manuscript of Laura’s diary, and after obtaining written permission from her parents and younger sister, it was subjected to a detailed examination as evidence in order to exclude the author’s mental illness, and after obtaining a negative test (she can only be accused of being obsessed with the beloved man), it was decided to print this manuscript as a warning to posterity. Laura was aware of her actions from the very beginning. Sometimes we do cruel things for love, we can’t recognize ourselves in them, but everybody must know limits. Laura should have known that her boyfriend was no longer hers, and perhaps he never really belonged to her. Laura should have asked for help and let her friends be. There is no doubt that Alice, Joe, and their baby would be a happy family.
In the case of Alice and her child’s death, there is no doubt that it was an unplanned act. Laura called for help, but the fact that she fled the crime scene and didn’t try to provide first aid worked to her disadvantage. Further intrigues, covering up traces and obstructing the work of police in this investigation resulted in such a court decision and such and no other punishment for Laura B.
However, this Shakespearian ending also brings positives for other characters. Three weddings are planned for September: Samantha & Mike’s (official celebrations), Sindy & Brian’s, and Taylor & Peter’s. When you play the game called love skillfully, you can believe in fate. Even when you stray from the ideal path, it’s never too late to fix mistakes. You just need to know how. And most importantly – you must stop following the fatal path of life when you already know that it leads nowhere. Laura tried at all costs to get her beloved man back, and unfortunately, it ended badly for all concerned.
When it comes to other professional matters, Joe Hoop received a post-mortem Grammy Award for the Silver Trills’ album. On this occasion, Alice & Joe’s song was also finished and released by the band as a tribute to their love.
Joe was an outstanding musician and actor. The world of pop culture will never forget this talented man. We will not forget about young Alice either. Rest in eternal peace. Amen.
1st February 2014 – 2nd March 2023
*
The Afterword
The reader probably hates the author for such an ending now…. I can’t help it! I wanted this book to end like this from the very beginning… But honestly, don’t worry, dear reader, if you want the continuation… Because death is the symbol of the transformation. It means a change… My characters will come back in a different form in another book. That’s what “I think I must’ve known you in a previous life…” means.
Joe, Alice, and their daughter… As I’ve already said, these characters will be back one day. But where are they now…? Obviously in heaven. They live happily ever after there. Until the right time comes for them to reunite on Earth again. In another time and place.
My resemblance to Alice is also true; I won’t hide it. I chose the name Alice at the confirmation, and my original alias Allysa simply means Alice or Alison… And why did I decide to put a piece of myself into this novel as well? Because I died twice just like the heroine, and my spirit has always been there around my Joe…
*
I wouldn’t be myself if I didn’t try to blur the borders of different literary genres. That’s why this book is almost everything – a young adult, a romance, a tragicomedy, and a crime novel. As you can see, this is my first novel and the first attempt to experiment.
I want my readers to have fun while reading my books, but I also want them to carry an important message. I don’t want it to be just a simple entertainment that adds nothing and changes nothing. I want my books to be suspenseful and surprising. That’s why I wanted the cover to be unobvious in the context of the whole content of this book and the ending.
This book was originally written by a girl who wasn’t sixteen yet, the girl who was still attending junior high school. I finished writing it in 2015, so I was already seventeen years old, and I was a high school student then… I’m a different person now than I was back then, but I look at this book and I’m surprised that young me already knew a lot about what she was writing. Ultimately, it’s revised, expanded, and the book has a recent ending (I stopped writing in the middle of Chapter 24 in 2015), but the idea of the story is original. Many years have passed, but I have never forgotten that I wanted a Shakespearean ending for this novel.
At first, it was fan fiction that I was publishing on my first blog. I don’t want to recall what was my inspiration for this story, but people who read that first version know. Today, I’m incredibly grateful for the popularity of the blog back then because it was definitely one of my greatest successes. I think that this experience made me believe that my writing could have some meaning and value. I don’t know how this new version will be received, but I hope it’ll be as warm as back then. I also hope that my old readers will pick up this book to remember those days from years ago, to see how the story changed and, most of all, how it ended.
Even then, when I just started writing this novel, I was still dreaming about a career as a singer and actress. I was singing in choirs, I was writing songs, I was playing in plays, and I was taking guitar lessons. I didn’t know then that I was starting my adventure with writing, and it would continue even day. I didn’t know then that writing could be my destiny. It’s something beautiful to look at your early work and be able to evaluate it with the critical eye of a specialist and professional. Life wanted me to be a writer and poet, but my original dreams will always be part of this book. Maybe one day I will fulfill my childhood dreams… Who knows! I recently heard a demo version of my song… And I would love to hear a soundtrack someday, and maybe even see it turning into a movie one day… Who knows…
This is how I’m ending this short afterword, and I hope that the reader will read my next two novels, Unknown Future – Your Destiny and Great Lady’s Diary, in the future as well.
***
This is how my book ends! I hope you liked it. If you’d like to have something from it… I can suggest visiting my store. The novel-inspired collection is here. You can also use the code ‘Summer2025’ that gives a 25% discount for everything!
There is also my old novel-inspired playlist that I updated today, and you can check it out here.
Next week I will also give you song lyrics from Silver Trills, pt. 1!
That’s it. See ya soon!
Love, A.A.
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