"The way to love anything is to realize that it might be lost."
- G. K. Chesterton
Why isn’t it raining?
It always rains. In every book, movie, and television show, it always rains. The cold drops tumble from a blanket of gray and land pattering on slick black umbrellas. The plants are flattened, their vivacious lives held at bay for just a day. For just one rainy day.
It’s not raining today. The June sun scorches down on us, glinting off a mahogany casket blindingly. Black umbrellas are replaced with sunglasses. Most people wear them to protect themselves from the sun. I’m wearing them to protect my self against people.
My tears have long since dried up. I shed my last the night we got news of what had happened.
I’d cried for weeks before they found him. The daunting unknown broke me. But that night, the night we got a call from Mrs. Stroud, I stopped. I stopped everything.
Now I hide behind tinted glass in hopes that people won’t see the emptiness inside of me. Maybe they won’t notice the blank expression upon my face, or the soulless stare in my eyes. Maybe they won’t notice I’m just as dead as he is.
The casket lowers slowly into the ground, a couple flowers toppling from the heap on top of it. I watch it silently, subconsciously noting the feel of my mom’s hand on my shoulder. It gives a squeeze before dropping back down.
I don’t know how long I sit, staring at the spot of ground he disappeared into. The crowd eventually dwindles until I’m alone.
Eventually, I stand. My shoes sink into the mossy grass as I make my way over to the grave marker. It stands proudly, all shiny and new. Its life has just begun.
Dampness from the earth soaks into my tights as I drop to my knees. I raise my hand slowly, running trembling fingers across the engraved words. With every letter I read, I feel another piece of my heart shrivel away.
Andrew Stroud: B. September 5 1994, D. June 7 2012
Son, Brother, Friend. Forever in our hearts. R.I.P
Burying the boy you love is not a time for sunshine.
Why didn’t it rain?
YOU ARE READING
Here I Am(HOLD)
Teen FictionMaggie Hunter's boyfriend is dead. And with Andrew's death she has lost her friends, her inspiration and herself. She keeps herself sane by visiting the lake where he died and where together they'd created many memories. But when a mysterious man be...
