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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄 ask when they find out that Grace cannot age is what is it like? What is it like to not age as a normal person would? And truth be told, Grace had no answer. She only had her own, personal experience. Her default answer, whenever she didn't want to talk about it, is that it was a strange feeling to not age. Perhaps that was part of the truth, but it wasn't the whole of it.
In fact, the whole truth was that it was a horrible feeling. Every person she ever met would inevitably die while she remained the same age as before. She watched as people she loved lived their lives while she didn't.
Peggy had grown old and had a family. She had her own children and grandchildren. Grace was happy to be Aunt Gracie to them, but all she wanted was a family of her own. But she knew that would never happen. It couldn't.
Grace knelt down against the soil as she laid a bouquet of flowers next to a tombstone. She traced the name with her fingers and let out a breath. "Hello, Colonel," she said quietly.
When Colonel Chester Phillips died only ten years after the end of the war, Grace was one of the first to be informed. In fact, the news had come from Howard himself and her first reaction was that she didn't believe him. Colonel Phillips had filled the void her father had emptied and became the father figure that she needed in her life; he was always available whenever she wanted or needed to talk. And when she was told he had died, he was only the first in a long line of people she loved who would die before her.
"I hope you're well, Colonel," she continued with a heavy sigh. Even if it had been nearly fifty years since his death, she still visited every month, just as she had in the past. She chuckled softly, shaking her head. "That's a silly question, you must be well. You don't have to live with the craziness of the world anymore. You don't have to go through life watching everybody you love slowly leave you."
Grace's thoughts wandered to her oldest friend. Peggy was currently in an assisted living facility and she visited whenever she could. As painful as it was to see her best friend in a state of decline, she always had a soft smile on her face. Regardless of what she was feeling, she refused to let Peggy see her any differently than when they had both been young.
"I never properly thanked you, Colonel," Grace said, looking back at the tombstone that bared both his and his wife's name. "For always listening to my silly complaints and problems. You were more of a father than my own was. And you listened to me more than Howard ever did." She felt a breeze blow through her hair and she smiled softly. "I guess that means you're listening still." She let out a small breath. "You gave me a chance when nobody else would. You didn't even know if I could do it but you believed in me. And for that... for that, I will never be able to repay you." She stood up and dusted the dirt on her pants. "I'll see you next month."
