How a Dying Woman Rewrote Her Epilogue

Out of nowhere, Elodie was startled.

She stepped aside quickly.

A girl's anxious voice called from behind her. "I'm so sorry! My drone just

malfunctioned and went out of control. Are you hurt?"

Elodie turned to see a teenage girl, maybe sixteen, dressed in a hospital gown. Her doll-like face, pretty and fresh, was full of concern.

Elodie shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

The girl let out a visible sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. I'm not sure what happened it suddenly stopped responding."

Elodie glanced at the rogue drone hovering nearby, then offered the dessert box she was carrying. "Would you mind if I took a look at it for you?"

The girl's eyes widened in surprise. "Of course not!"

She took the box from Elodie, peeking inside at the small batch of cookies. Her entire face lit up.

Elodie powered down the drone and examined it. "Looks like a navigation system glitch. It's not following the preset route. Let me check if it's a gyroscope or sensor calibration issue."

The girl watched her in awe. "Wow, you really know your stuff!"

Elodie made a few quick adjustments and handed the drone back. "It should be much better now. Want to give it a try?"

again, and this

"Freya Delacroix!"

behind them. Elodie turned to

him, Freya instinctively

stopped short, surprised to see Elodie.

Elodie asked, "You're her...?"

well, and she snuck out

her

to linger. Her

lips together, not sure what else

two know each other?" Freya piped up, eyes bright and

"friends," Elodie's brows drew together almost

call it

their relationship was...

hesitated, finally saying, "We've

some reason, her brother seemed awkward

warming to Elodie. First impressions meant a lot to her, and this woman was clearly brilliant-she even knew how to fix a

and Joseph noticed. "It's

I'll scan your code," Elodie said. She couldn't bring herself to turn

infectious. "Thank you for fixing my drone! Maybe

smiled faintly.

toward the cookies in Freya's arms. "I made those myself.

go ahead and try