The Final Choice
Elara gathered everyone on the deck.
Her parents. Her grandmother. Dorian and his grandmother. The first captain. Thousands of passengers, their faces hopeful, their hearts full.
“The voyage is ending,” Elara said. “The ship is dying. The heart is fading.”
The crowd was silent.
“The passengers will leave. The ship will sink. The captain will rest.”
“What about you?” her mother asked.
Elara was silent for a long moment.
“I will go with the ship.”
Her mother’s face crumbled.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You can’t.”
“I can. I will. I chose this. I accepted this. I will not run from it.”
Her mother grabbed her hands.
“You’re my daughter. I won’t let you sacrifice yourself.”
“I’m not sacrificing myself. I’m saving the lost. I’m giving them hope. I’m ending the voyage.”
“Same thing.”
Her father stepped forward.
“Elara—”
“I love you, Dad. I love you, Mom. I love you, Grandmother. But I can’t leave. Not yet. Maybe not ever.”
Her grandmother took her hands.
“Then we’ll stay with you.”
“No. You’ve been trapped long enough. You deserve to be free. You deserve to live.”
“We deserve to be with you.”
Elara smiled.
It was a sad smile, small and tired and full of years.
“You will be. In here.” She touched her chest. “In your heart. In your memories. In the love you carry.”
The first captain stepped forward.
“It is time.”
Elara nodded.
She walked to the heart of the ship.
The passengers watched.
The heart pulsed.
She reached inside.
The light consumed her.