I never thought the end of the game was Squall's death...in fact, I dislike the idea alot.
I always thought that the end was Squall not following Laguna's advice...you know when he said to get back you had to believe in your friends and go where they are or whatever? Well, Squall's a loner so he got lost in the uncompression of time (perhaps why he ended up at Edea's orphanage first). However, once he remembered Rinoa he successfully came back to the present.
