The idea that my life might be anything but ordinary was laughable. Even when I was the actual center of the universe, I was nobody special.

“Who were the others?” I asked.

To that, Edward gave a sly smile. “Ah,” he said. “That’s a good question, isn’t it? Goodbye, Ash. May you enjoy how your path unfolds.”

And then he was gone, dissolving into long shadows cast by a bright moon.

I turned to look at that moon through my window, a swollen gibbous, nearly full to bursting. There was comfort in its familiarity. Knowing it would always be there, waxing and waning. Nothing I did from this moment on would change that. Sure, I suppose that primordial black hole was still out there, but then, it’s always been there, like a far-off hornets’ nest. If we don’t mess with it, it won’t mess with us.

Whether or not I’m wiser for the things I’ve experienced is not for me to judge. I do know that I have been humbled. I have been schooled in my own ignorance. That’s not a bad thing. Understanding the depth of what we don’t know protects us from the kind of hubris that destroys worlds. Perhaps, in the end, that’s the perspective that matters. Only by being humbled can we ever hope to be great.

I also know, like humanity itself, there are parts of my multiple selves that will never be reconciled. Gaps that can’t be sealed but can only be bridged—but as any engineer can tell you, it’s the tension in the cables that makes a bridge strong. Trusting the tension between the things we can’t unite is what protects us from plunging into the canyon between.

The moon slipped behind a cloud, but the room didn’t get dark. There’s always light somewhere in a hospital room. I closed my eyes. My body ached, but not as much as before. I was getting used to the void where my left leg had been. I would be okay. I would adapt, because that’s what we do. We adapt or we die, and I had no intention of dying anytime soon, not when there’s this remarkable life I’m supposed to live.

And there it is. Believe it, don’t believe it, it’s all the same to me.

I know I’ll never be on a defensive line again, but that’s okay. I think I’ve graduated to a much more exciting game. I’m ready to tackle whatever the world throws at me.

So bring it on.

Acknowledgments

By the time this book is published, I’m hoping that our world will be on track in more ways than one. I won’t say “back on track” because there are definitely new tracks that need to be found, as much as there are ones to return to.