A monthter, he brought my ashes to the awards ceremony.


    No surprise-he won thepetition. But he donated every penny of the prize money to the Pediatric ALS Foundation.


    “Sky, this was your dream.”


    His eyes were so gentle.


    Just like that night in senior year study hall when he’d stare at my back from across the room.


    But whenever I’d turn around, he’d say “You’ll never be better than me!”


    Just like that day when his paints were right there in his backpack, but he still fought me for mine.


    He thought that was love. But love he couldn’t say out loud made him lose everything that mattered. <fnc1ab> ??? ????? ???????s ??? ?????s??? ?? fι?dnοvel</fnc1ab>


    He’d finally learned to be gentle, but the person who made him want to love was gone.


    After the ceremony, ke took the donation certificate straight to a pediatric ALS care center.


    “Hey kids, I’m ke.”


    He crouched down, making his voice as soft as possible.


    “I brought you picture books, toys, and special drawing tools-all gifts from ady named Skr who wanted me to give these to you.”


    The kids cheered and pped.


    Watching their faces light up, he suddenly remembered what Skr said in her video:


    “Genesis lives for others-I’ve always worked to make people smile.”


    She’d already found her own way to spread kindness in this world.


    This world might not have Skr anymore, but every child she’d helped save carried a piece of her forward.


    And what he was doing now was just continuing to pass on her love.


    ke stared ahead, lost in thought.


    All those kids’ smiles blurred together until they became a pair of eyes-


    A girl’s eyes that never gave up, never epted defeat, always reaching toward the light.


    ke carefully collected all the kids’ crayon drawings and had them printed as photos.


    One by one, he taped them to my headstone.


    This little girl is Emma-she draws flowers even prettier than yours from back in the day. Says she wants to be an architect when she grows up.”


    “But she… she can’t move anymore.”


    “Remember Annie? The first kid you sponsored.”


    “She always dreamed of seeing the world. I got her the best travel coordinator, but that kid was such an adventurer-made it all the way to Paris and decided she… she didn’t want toe home…”


    “And there’s Tommy. Kid kept saying his dad was this huge hero, dragged me to go see.”


    “Then the little guy just fell asleep at the veterans’ cemetery. Probably missed his old man. I didn’t want to interrupt their time together…”


    He leaned against my headstone, tears streaming down his face.


    “I used to think beating you made me somebody special.”


    He gently traced my name carved in the stone.


    “Now I know your smile was what I loved most about everything.”


    “Too bad I figured it out way toote.”


    The sun was setting when he stood up, stretching his back.


    “Sky, afterpeting with you all these years, there’s one thing you never once beat me at.”


    He smiled to himself, smoothing out the wrinkles in his shirt.


    Being so careful, like he was about to meet someone really important.


    “I’ve always been faster than you. This time you got a head start, but I’m definitely gonna catch up.”


    With that, he copsed in front of my grave.


    A small white pill bottle rolled out of his palm.


    For a second, I heard someone calling my name from somewhere behind me..


    “Sky, I always kicked your ass at running!”


    “Next life, I’m not gonnapete with you anymore.”


    “Skr… I love you.”


    And in a corner where nobody was looking, carved into our old ssroom windowsill:


    [Skr vs ke: 1-1]