Epilogue: Plucking the Moon.

She felt comfortable, perhaps too much, in her position, but it was worth seeing them happy. It had been hard not to intervene more directly, but she always wanted to be sure that they knew what they were doing, even if it was prompted by her.

She still considered the house small and sparsely inhabited. It lacked something of Enric's that wasn't just some practically new books or a narrow wardrobe shared between the two. Although maybe what was missing was something more personal from Patricia. She loved them so much!

She accompanied them to a place she remembered with longing, a cozy little chalet where she had spent her childhood. A couple of Enric's friends went with them, some of whom she did know.

She had been waiting a long time to feel so fulfilled. They deserved that second chance, and she subtly intervened so they could live it together. She asked herself how long it had been since the last time she interceded.

She looked at the sun; it shone too brightly between the clouds for the leaves of the trees on the street to be copper-coloured. She observed her protégés; they were with people she remembered and some she had only seen a couple of times before. Everyone was smiling.

Patricia entered the house, Enric followed her to the threshold because she asked him to, and when she came out to the back porch where the others were, she carried a guitar in her hands. She sat in the shade of the house and prepared herself. Patricia began to move her fingers to tune the guitar and then plucked a few chords to play the melody.

As much as she wanted to, she couldn't hear anything Patricia played, since dying almost two years ago didn't leave much of a bond to pull. Her sister strummed the strings, making them vibrate. Her left hand formed the chords on which the picking was based, but she couldn't hear anything.

She remembered traveling far in an instant and the same thing happening, wanting to hear Patricia's sweet voice and not being able to. The previous time she had possessed a stranger and ended up so exhausted that she decided not to do it again. She tried to play the guitar to feel the strings, to vibrate, but it was useless.

An idea appeared in her mind, and she flew upstairs toward her sister's room. There she looked for something that could help her, but found nothing. She then went to what had once been her room, and on the bed she found a dusty and ragged teddy bear she thought she had forgotten somewhere lost.

The stuffed animal still wore the scarf Patricia had given it tied around its neck. With great willpower, she managed to grab the upper loop of the weak knot that held it and untied it. She managed to carry the scarf to the stairs and gave up.

She looked toward the window and peeked through the blinds. Everyone was under the porch roof. She didn't want to miss the end of the song, even if she couldn't hear it, and for that reason, she went down to where the others were.

One thing surprised her: Enric, as apathetic as she knew him, was moved with flushed cheeks. The boy clasped his hands and brought them to his mouth while he kept talking. He began to doubt as he glanced sideways at each of those present. Then Enric knelt before Patricia, who was still sitting with an expectant expression. He raised one knee and placed his foot. He reached into his pocket and took out a tiny box. Everyone watching was as moved as Patricia was surprised, and Enric opened the little box.

A pristine white ring shone inside. He didn't need to say or ask anything. Patricia carefully placed the guitar on the ground and approached him. She took his face in her hands and kissed him. She pulled away from Enric crying and nodded her head so vigorously that she feared she might fall.

Despite the emotional moment, the sun shone so brightly that it burned her vision, and finally she heard a familiar voice. It wasn't any of those present, but she remembered it perfectly.

—Soraya, take my hand.

—Eva?

—Squeeze it tight, don't let go, and follow me.

—But...

—We can take one last look, but we must disappear.

—Where will we go?

—I don't know, but we've fulfilled what bound us to them.

—And what will happen to Patricia and Enric?

—You've done well; nothing bad will happen to them that's within your power to prevent. Look at them.

Both sisters watched their mother enter the house with the others behind her. One by one they passed, patting one or the other of the newly engaged couple. Patricia climbed the stairs with the guitar in hand, and Enric followed her. A few steps from the top, from where you could see the door to all the rooms, she stopped abruptly, surprising her boyfriend.

She pointed to the floor, something had fallen. Enric stepped forward and picked it up: it was the scarf that should still be tied around the teddy bear's neck. There was no doubt, it still had the dart inserted in one of the ends.

The couple looked at each other, astonished. Then they looked toward the room where it should be, and the teddy bear was lying down. A smile lit up their faces; they already knew who had given them that second chance.

—How do I know if they'll stay together or not?

—I'll show you. Do you still like roses?

From the immaculate white dress Eva wore, she tied a knot in the skirt and tore it effortlessly. She closed her hands forming a box and then opened them. She held a beautiful lunar white rose that looked like the very moon in her hands.

—Ask it a question and remove a petal. It will show you the answer.

—Will they be happy together?

An image began to form on the petal. It looked blurry, but there were two figures. It began to focus, and they weren't two figures, but more. Two elderly people seemed to be getting married, but a sign behind the couple had a fifty written in golden paint and a silver crown hanging from the five. Two couples of slightly less than fifty years applauded around them, surrounded in turn by teenagers and children sitting on the ground. A girl of no more than twenty-five years showed a large pregnant belly. When she looked at the faces of the bride and groom, she remembered two people very dear to her and smiled happily at her sister.