Epilogue

It was already late in the night when Faith came back to the motel. The moon was full and high, the sky was clear. The Slayer’s evening had not been especially difficult: there weren’t too many monsters around there it seemed, but she had let off some steam with her detour through the ‘Holding the night’. She was now calmer and had decided it was time to come back to the room she shared with Tara.

Her steps echoed on the iron stairs leading to the motel’s second floor where their room was, and even though it occurred to her that she might wake someone up, Faith did not care and did not try to be quieter.

Finally in front of her door, Faith tried to look inside out the window, but the curtains were carefully drawn. She glanced at her watch and had to bend over the railing under the full moon to be able to see the hands. When she realized they were showing two in the morning, she grimaced at the thought of Tara being furious to have waited for her for so long. She turned to the door again and got her key out her jeans back pocket before sliding it into the lock. A trademark click told her the door was unlocked and Faith pushed it open to enter. She closed the door carefully behind her, taking care to make as less noise as she could in case Tara had fallen asleep while waiting for her. As the closing click softly rang, Faith waited for the moment when the light would be switched on and when Tara would gave her one of these looks she tried to be dirty but only betrayed her anxiety. But the light did not switch on, and Faith thought with a hint of regret that the blonde was probably very angry with her to be able to fall asleep before she was back.

She slipped along the wall to cross the room up to the bathroom and carefully opened the door before slipping in. She switched the light on and before the door was totally closed, she glanced at the bed without thinking.

And her heart skipped a beat.

The bed was empty, neatly made, without any trace that someone had been using it recently.

Faith immediately came back in the room and she groped around for the switch. When the room was lit, she scanned the few square meters of the empty room.

“Tara?” she called in vain.

As expected, no one answered.

The brunette quickly looked around the room again, feeling more worried with each second that passed. When she was forced to admit that Tara was not there, the Slayer rushed to the door, but as she was about to cross the threshold, something on the desk at the immediate right of the door caught her eye. A white sheet folded in two had been left there in an obvious way. In her haste to search for a trace of her friend, Faith had not noticed it before. She closed the door again and grabbed the sheet briskly. The Slayer unfolded it so quickly that she slightly tore the right top corner. The letter was for her and had been carefully written with blue ink. Faith skimmed through it a first time, then a second, as to be sure she had understood everything. Then she flopped onto the mattress behind her and started to read the letter a third time. The words were dancing in front of her eyes and she had to really make an effort to focus and get their meaning.

“Faith,” the Slayer read. “I don’t think I’m wrong if I tell you we’ve both reached the end of this strange life together. I understand it must be hard for you to keep me with you and to take care of me, especially as I’m acting erratically sometimes.

I really want to thank you for everything you’ve done for me these last few months, I don’t think any word would be enough to start to express how thankful I am.

I could have left quite some time ago; I could have taken care of myself. I don’t exactly know why I’ve stayed. Maybe I was just afraid of change. It only felt natural to me until now. But I realize I’ve never bothered to wonder what you wanted, I’ve never realized how much of a weight I am for you. I think it’s about time I spread my wings and leave the nest.

I know you made a promise to Buffy and you really wanted to keep it. Today you can consider you did. I’m freeing you of your promise; you’ll be now free to do whatever you want.

I wish you would finally find what you’re looking for, whatever it might be, so far away from Cleveland and your people.

Maybe we will meet again someday.

Good luck,

Tara”

A fourth reading did not change the overall meaning and Faith remained staring at the letter between her hands for a moment before her nostrils imperceptibly quivered and she knitted her brow, holding back her irritation. Then, the Slayer slowly crumpled the letter between her fingers, and threw the ball of paper thus obtained on the desk in front of her.

“Crap,” she concluded in the absolute silence.

End of ‘Come back before dark’