Afterword

Well, if you’ve made it this far, then I salute you. I’m absolutely thankful that you took all this time to read my first-ever written novel. Honestly, I don’t know if anyone will even be able read this message. It’s simply just the thoughts of an author written at the very end of the book. I don’t know if you enjoyed reading it, but I sure do know that I enjoyed writing it. Whether I poured all my heart and soul into it, I will never be sure. I just know that the journey was fun. I never even thought I could make it this far, so I’m already proud of myself for at least being able to finish a book.

At first, I had originally written this with the intention of creating my ideal version of what a gentleman should be. It was just supposed to be a funny gimmick between “a girl who hates men working together with an absolute gentleman to survive the zombie apocalypse”, but it feels like it went way deeper than it should have been. It was then when I realized the beauty of writing. Initially, it just seemed like a casual hobby I would do for fun, so it wasn't really something I should take seriously.

But later on, it felt more like it was something that connected deep inside of me. Something that allowed me to pour out my inner thoughts and emotions. It sounds cheesy, but it’s true. There’s just something about it that makes you delve deep into your mind and take it more seriously. I’m not sure how to describe it. I would say it’s like being friends with someone at first, then slowly coursing towards a deep intimate relationship with that person. I don’t know if you understood that.

And that's how I ended up developing my two main characters, Perci and Ori. At first I planned them out to be simple characters, but I think I ended up making them way more complicated than that because my brain said so. I don’t know if they can be considered well-written characters by critics, but I tried my best, you know? I’m still a beginner writer, so I probably shouldn’t be too harsh on myself.

If you think about it, writing sounds easy. All you would need are thoughts and ideas, then just write them down on paper or digitally. It’s probably something most people could do. But it’s not something they’re willing to do. It takes time and effort. It requires dedication and willingness. No matter how hard you try to say you can make a better story than most works of fiction, it’s all rubbish if you don’t actually do it.

Remember the shooting star scene? You know what my wish would be? To leave a mark in this world. I wouldn’t mind if my name would be forgotten. As long as my story lives forever, then that’s all that matters.

Will I write a sequel? Who knows? Maybe.

Anyways, thanks for reading my story. As a gentleman, I bid you farewell for now, kings and queens.

- Xiellion

I was supposed to post this along with the final chapter, but I didn’t want to ruin my 69,420 word count lol.