---- Chapter 8 Sarah's POV Five years later. It was spring again. I was teaching my students a colored pencil drawing class. "Remember, when you're drawing the sky, start with alight blue and then slowly make it darker..." "Miss Sarah, someone's at the door for you," Lily, the class monitor, said, raising her hand. I stepped out of the classroom and sawa very thin figure standing a little way off. It was Ethan, but he looked really, really sick. His face was a yellowish-gray, he was painfully skinny, and his hair was completely white. He looked like a very old man, like he didn't have long left. He was like a total stranger. ---- "Miss Sarah, this man asked me to give this to you." Lily handed me a brown envelope. Ethan stood about fifty yards away. He looked at me once, then slowly turned and walked away. His back was hunched over, and he looked like every step was an effort. Inside the envelope was a bank card and a photograph. A photo of Tyler. One I'd never seen before. In the photo, Tyler was wearing a little suit, smiling a huge, happy smile at the camera, holding up two fingers in a V-sign. On the back, a few lines were written: "Tyler's 7th Birthday 2019.3.15 Daddy will love you forever Sarah, this is the only photo I had left in my wallet. It's the last thing I have to leave for you both." ---- I put away this last picture of Tyler. I turned to go back, but tears just started streaming down my face. I couldn't stop them. Three days later, I got a text from Dr. Williams: "Sarah, Ethan passed away early yesterday morning from late-stage lung cancer. He left a will, and he hoped you would accept this last gift from him. The funeral is on Saturday." I looked at the text, feeling strangely calm. In the end, I didn't go. Ijust put Tyler's photo on my bedside table, and I look at it every day. In the photo, Tyler is forever seven years old, forever smiling that bright, happy smile. Watching my students grow up, year after year, I sometimes imagine what Tyler would be like if he were still alive. Would he like drawing superheroes, like Tommy does? ---- Would he be serious about learning to draw, like Lily? Would he still look up to his dad so much? Late at night, when everything is quiet, I talk to the photo softly: "Tyler, Mommy misses you so much." "Mommy is an art teacher now. I teach lots of sweet kids, just like you, how to draw." "You don't need to worry about Mommy. Mommy's doing okay." It's like the Tyler in the photo is saying, "Mommy, I know you're the best." I know Tyler wouldn't want me to live my whole life full of hate and sadness. So, Tyler, Mommy will do that. I'll carry my love for you with me, and I'll keep going. If there's another life, will you be Mommy's little boy again, okay?