What I will tell you is that I found Jami.
It wasn’t even some clever search technique that turned her up. I wish I could say I’m some sort of ultra-capable internet private detective, but what eventually led me to Jami was what had led me to Guardian21 in the first place: a highly-visible internet presence.
I will tell you that she is a successful writer of fiction. I will tell you that she was nominated for a prestigious genre award. I will tell you that her work is just as phenomenal, her talent just as sharp, as her early fanfiction hinted at.
And I will tell you that this is the most unlikeliest and fantastic conclusion to this story that I could have possibly hoped for.
Do you know how rare it is for a fanfiction writer to make it in the actual writing world? It is rare. It is even more rare for a writer of any background to find success, and even more rare for a writer to be nominated for one of the biggest prizes in fiction. I couldn’t believe it. But then, of course I could. It was all right there, in Guardian21’s words, on fanfiction.net.
Some names we have to leave behind in order for new names to grow. I don’t know what will be left of my internet presence the day after I die, or a hundred years after, or a millennia after. But it will be better than a name and a couple dates on a tombstone, and that’s all I can hope for.