Epilogue

It’s 1 year after the murder. 

After his brief moment of national fame, Joey becomes a long-term local hero. He continues to visit Daniel’s Mom once a week and, together they are starting to rebuild their lives. In the wake of the murder, Joey realized just how delicate the human psyche can be and has re-enrolled in college to pursue a degree in psychology. 

Kim enjoyed a speedy recovery from the stab wound she received on the day that Sam and Alice left town. Upon her full recovery, she left town as quickly as she could. She is now living in her old neighborhood in Atlanta, GA. While she has sustained immeasurable loss, she has also realized what’s really important in life. Today Kim is the owner of a successful business, working in the field pest control. 

The second that Helen realized the police would not take action against Daniel’s killer she knew that she had to leave town; she had to start over. That night she drove nearly 400 miles. And then the next day she drove more. She drove and drove until one night, alone in the desert she witnessed the longest, brightest shooting star that any human has ever seen. She knew that it was time to stop running. Today she lives a peaceful life in a small town in New Mexico. She lives alone but is never lonely. Each night she watches the vast sky for shooting stars. 

After Alice and Sam’s role in Daniel’s murder was revealed, they were quickly linked to 4 preceding murders, each occurring in different states. As such, they are now at the top of the FBI’s most-wanted list. At first, they drove from town to town, always finding some kind of work to pay them under the table, but as resources dwindled so did their car. Unable to purchase a new one, they began taking the bus out of town every time someone started to recognize them. Housing has become difficult too and they often find themselves staying in local homeless shelters. Today was Alice’s turn to stand at the main intersection in town, selling flowers that she collected from the dumpster behind the local florist. Each time she attempted eye contact, the drivers in each car would turn away. It was as if she did not exist. 

Meanwhile, on another plane of existence, Daniel has finally found peace. He watches over the world seeing everything happen at once, yet remains completely detached from all of it. These days he almost never interferes in the affairs of humans, except for when he sends the occasional shooting star to a small town in New Mexico.