Elias and I dance. I’m part of it now. I belong to the Ruby. The other ones, the guests who aren’t like us, mill about, commenting on how cold the ballroom has gotten. Talking excitedly about ghosts. They’re on a different plane, existing only in one dimension.
But the lot of us can see it all. We’re here together, forever, but it’s not so bad. I turn to Eli, draping my arms over his shoulders and coming in close. I see now that the sadness in his eyes will never go away, just like my grief and guilt can never truly fade. It’s part of who we were, who we still are. We were lost, all of us, but now we’ve found a place where we can belong.
Here in the Ruby we can all start our lives again, now that we’re dead.
SUZANNE YOUNG is the New York Times bestselling author of the Program duology. Originally from Utica, New York, Suzanne moved to Arizona to pursue her dream of not freezing to death. She is a novelist and an English teacher, but not always in that order. Suzanne is the author of The Program, The Treatment, The Remedy, and A Need So Beautiful. Visit her online at www.suzanne-young.blogspot.com.