[Completed] Ranked #1!
Ariana Grayson is young, beautiful, popular...and dead. Her best friend, Everly Clarke, is devastated and broken. She has never had to live without Ariana, relying on her as a crutch to hide her crippling anxiety. After meetin...
"I don't see a sailboat," I told Ariana and chuckled.
My legs were stiff and cramped as I stood up. I wanted to walk around as I had the last time I was here. The day of Ariana's funeral. The cemetery was quiet and empty from what I could tell. A perfect setting to stroll around alone without distraction. This time I walked in the other direction. The gravestones gradually got more dated, and I entered a much older section of the cemetery.
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The trees were taller over there and the plants seemed a bit overgrown. This was the section of the cemetery I would have normally avoided. It was the same section that teenagers would sometimes hang out in late at night, having jumped over the gate. It would get very dark at night with only the moon illuminating the area. On foggy nights, it looked especially spooky, and I made a point to avoid going there. I didn't see the point in hanging out in the creepiest part of an old cemetery in the dark of night just to drink beer or whatever.
Cemeteries in general weren't my favorite of places to visit. I hadn't been to a lot of funerals or had much experience with death besides this. Occasionally I would walk through the newer sections of this cemetery while on my way to Town Square if I wanted to take a shortcut. It was definitely a lot quicker to cut through and make my way over to Main Street. But, I usually only took this shortcut when I was in a rush. Otherwise, I took the long way, going down the block and crossing over to Main. Even in the daylight, it's still a cemetery, after all. I couldn't help but be a little creeped out by the thought of it. But that was way before I knew any of its residents.
Today, however, I forced myself to not let it bother me. I figured I'd be spending a lot of time here since Ariana is buried there. If I want to visit her, I'll have to get used to the overall feeling of the cemetery and not let it spook me away.
To distract me from getting too caught up in my own thoughts, I started to read the tombstones, calculating the ages of the deceased in my head. Math wasn't my strongest strength, and I silently congratulated myself each time I calculated an age correctly and quickly.
When I saw one of a young child, I stopped. I hated to think of children who were deceased. I imagined the heartbreak this child's parents must have felt. It hit me with heavy, agonizing pain.
Stop! I told myself. You can't let every little thing here affect you or make you cry! You're so emotional!
But I did cry. I felt the heartache from each person's death, and couldn't shake it. I sighed, growing angry with myself for losing control of my emotions like this. I came here to visit Ariana, not to try to guess if people had mourned anyone else who was laid to rest here. I was being super emotional, which was to be expected I guess. Maybe I just hadn't thought I would be this overly sensitive. I tried to will myself to toughen up.
Taking a break, I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, rubbing my neck with my hand. Tension fought my hand, cramping in my muscles. I took a step back and tripped over a rock, falling backwards, landing on the ground.
