Story structure
Epilogue
A piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the work and reveal the fates of its characters.
An epilogue is "a piece of writing at the end of a work of literature, usually used to bring closure to the work," presented from a perspective inside the story; the Greek epilogos means "conclusion." Its listed jobs: reveal the fates of the characters, "to satisfy the reader's curiosity and to cover any loose ends," and, in series fiction, hint at a sequel or next installment. Horror uses it to suggest a lingering threat; a play's epilogue may deliver the moral after a tragic ending. Named examples run from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet to The Handmaid's Tale and Animal Farm.
The craft rule is restraint: an epilogue answers questions the climax legitimately left open, and should not reopen the story. In three-act structure it sits after the denouement; for serial writers it is also the natural place to close a frame story the book opened.