Chapter: Voices of the Past

The next morning, Olivia arrived at the gallery earlier than usual. The sun was just beginning to peek through the windows when Matteo ran in from the small garden, his notebook in hand.

"Today's the day!" he announced, as if on a secret mission.

"What day, Mati?" Olivia asked, smiling as she settled in front of the desk where she had left Tom's diary.

"The day I tell you what Tom said to tell you when you were ready." Matteo sat in front of her, very serious.

Luciana appeared with two cups of hot chocolate and quietly placed them on the table. It seemed she also knew what this was about.

Olivia opened the diary. The new page had a looser handwriting, as if Tom had written it while speaking, without thinking too much.

"Liv,
Yesterday was a magical afternoon. I'll never forget the way you and your friends laughed under the lights in the park. I felt out of place, as I always do with so much feminine energy around, but I also felt happy.
I realized that they were more than just your friends: they were your home. That's why I left a letter for each of them. Matteo will deliver them when the time comes. Yes, I talked to him. That boy... he has the wisest soul I've ever known.
I asked him to look after your memories, to remind you who you are when you forget. And I also left him a drawing. One I never finished, but I want you to have it when you feel you can't go on.
I love you. To you and all the little pieces of life you gave me."

Olivia closed her eyes. The warmth of the hot chocolate faded between her hands.

"Matteo?" she whispered.

He pulled out a small envelope from his notebook, and another larger one, carefully folded.

"This one is for you," he said, handing her the envelope. "And these others, for your friends. Tom told me to give them to you when you smiled reading one of his entries. You smiled today."

Olivia opened the letter with trembling hands. It was a brief note, handwritten.

"When you don't know who you are, ask Gloria.
When you can't find strength, ask Merlyn.
And when you won't allow yourself to cry, let Alejandra do it for you.
You are not alone. You never were."

Tears fell from Olivia's eyes uncontrollably. Someone touched her shoulder: it was Gloria, who had just arrived with Merlyn and Alejandra.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Alejandra asked when she saw her expression.

Olivia didn't answer. Instead, she handed each of them their envelope. They all opened it, and soon the silence was filled with sobs, nervous laughs, and looks full of love.

Luciana watched from the door, with a faint smile.

Matteo, still holding the folded drawing in his hands, approached.

"This... I'm not sure if Tom finished it. But he said you would know what to do with it."

Olivia unfolded it. It was a forest of soft lines, drawn in pencil. In the center, a figure: her, sitting among the trees, surrounded by tiny lights. Beside her, a faceless silhouette, seemingly watching her.

"I remember this," she whispered. "It was the surprise picnic he made for me at the end of the semester... when I told him I didn't know if I could handle everything."

"He drew you at that moment," said Matteo. "He told me it was so you'd remember to be brave."

Olivia said nothing more. She just hugged Matteo, tightly, while her friends' voices filled the background with stories, laughs, and love.

Because yes, Tom was gone... but he had left a whole army of love behind to hold her up.