A Nightmare's Fate

Burning Memories

Chapter Forty-two: Burning Memories

   Packing the car, I take out another box to Errik. “Is that it?” he asks and I look back to the house.

            “There’s one more,” I lie. “I’ll go get it. Why don’t we meet back at the apartment and you can start unpacking?” He nods and leaves. When he’s gone, I go inside the house and down the stairs to the basement. There isn’t one, but there’s about five; all in which are the belongings of Kenton Louis, my ex-fiancé.

            It takes me a while to get all of them up the stairs and into my car. Slamming the trunk door close, I pace my way back inside and take this valuable time in saying goodbye. I touch the walls of the house and I can still feel his presence. It’s like he’s here with me; like he’s my guardian angel just watching over me. Patting the wall, I can feel tears rushing towards my eyes and my face beginning to turn red like a tomato. Turning around, I head towards the front door and out towards the car.

*~*~*~*~*

Arriving at an old friend’s, I knock on the door and a dark skinned man opens it. He’s bald, looking like he’s in his early thirties. “Raven,” he says; his deep voice is quite odd to hear after so long. “How are you?”

            “Fine . . .” I begin but I somehow can’t gain the confidence in asking him the favor I need. “And you?”

            “Doing ‘ight,” he says and pauses, waiting for me to say something else but I lost my way. “I know you didn’t just come here to say that, so what is up?” I try my best to tell Carter what I need from him, but I can’t do it. I just can’t.

            “I . . . I . . .” My body starts to shiver and I feel like any moment now I’m going to be in cardiac arrest. You need to do this, I think. You need to go through with this, Ray. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and explain myself. “Carter, I need to use your bin.”

            “For what?” he asks. He has a large bin in the backyard that he uses for fire. We would use it when we had bonfire times.

            “I need to get rid of Kenton’s things.” The words are like poison; every word is killing me. Without further questioning or saying, he opens the door wide and helps me with the boxes. We put them in the trashcan and once it’s full and done, he lights it on fire and every single memory, everything I have that is left of Kenton is gone in a matter of seconds. Burning into mere ashes and rising into the sky. As I see the pictures turn into nothing but dust, I nearly cry. My whole future was in those photos, but now he’s gone and I’m alone. No, you’re not alone. You have Errik.

            “I had forgotten to say something to you at the funeral. I’m truly sorry for your loss, Ray. He was a good soldier,” Carter assures me. He and Kenton were stationed out in Germany a few times; they were friends. Carter’s girlfriend and I don’t have much in common, so we don’t exactly hang out like what Kenton and he did. But I suppose after the funeral, I’ve been preoccupied and has felt nothing but sorrow, moping around in my once was giant home.

            “Thanks,” is all I can say in return. Watching the objects turn black and the ashes rise into the atmosphere, weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, although it was as if there wasn’t any on there in the first place. But still. I can feel pain coursing through my body as each memory of our past has been erased from the world; and no one, not even God, knows about it.