Life Eternal

Chapter IX (Part III) - Petals, Snow & An Empty Grave

" Look, I don't really know how to make this right again. I am just so terribly ashamed & embarrassed..."

                    " Ashamed & embarrassed because of what..? "

A weak nod in the direction of his brother's grave was all you managed to give as a response in that moment, for the rest  - so you hoped – was already self-explanatory. 

                      " Because I, you know... 'fell asleep' on your brothers grave? I mean... that must have been quite a weird, if not even disturbing thing for you to witness? And yet... I hope that you believe me when I say how sorry I am & that I still have no valuable explanation as to why & how this could even happen at all, but--- "

The river of words & excuses came to a sudden halt as your counterpart raised a hand up into the air, silencing you in an instant.

" Let me tell you something," he replied ever so softly, now turning his whole frame towards you while clearing his throat. 

" Normally I come down here twice a week, occasionally three times if my schedule allows it, but that is during summertime only. Since today is a Sunday - & a rather wintry one at that - I have already been here twice this week, so as you can see I did not really have a reason to be here, now did I? "

A brow was lifted at you as a veil of silence fell, his eyes glowing with what appeared to be expectation; did he really wait for an answer from you?

You, still in the process of recovering from the previous revelation merely shook your head, however the look you gave him was anything but convincing. Just what exactly was he trying to tell you here?

" What I am saying is that, for some strange reason... I felt drawn to come here on this very day, even though I myself had none at all. Not one that I could name anyway. It almost felt as if... "

Anders paused as a gentle breeze blew across the graveyard, chasing through the partially naked branches of the trees before disappearing with a sigh behind the hills in the nearby distance.

" ... my brother himself demanded it. So without questioning that little voice inside my head I got here, unable to explain that intuition of mine yet still feeling like I was doing the right thing... & that's when I found you. "

Eyes that were close to filling with tears widened as all you could do in response was stare at the kind man in front of you, caught somewhere between admiration & confusion. His words had you in awe without a single doubt, moreover, the way he talked about his beloved brother. As someone who did not believe in coincidences & most certainly never would, especially after experiencing a fair share of synchronicities herself like your most recent dream your mind was open to pretty much everything at this point.

" So are you saying that Pelle... wanted us to meet? "

The corners of Anders' mouth twitched before curving his lips up into a smile that radiated a sense of relief & he peered over his right shoulder to look at Pelle's tombstone as if he was actually standing there, waiting for his brother to share a smile with him.

            " Yes. He brought us together. "

 
Another cold breeze arose as to confirm those words, blowing a couple of leaves away from the road & toward the two of you; a dark crimson maple leaf landed in your lap. You stared at it wordlessly for what felt like an eternity whilst inside of you a war was raging, the images of Pelle's smile which were burned in the fabric of your soul, never to fade, once again calling for your tears. But you fought against it with fierce determination, unwilling to fall apart in front of his brother who seemed so unbelievably happy all of a sudden. If he could be this strong then for crying out loud, so could you.

            " I know you were talking to him. "

You snapped out of your daydream back into reality with a gasp, your eyes meeting those of Anders .

" What--? "

                 " You said his name while you were unconscious... along with a few other things that I did not quite understand. It sounded as if you were having a conversation with my brother. "

" I... "

And here it was at last. That one situation you did not want to find yourself in because you feared it more than anything. Now you had to face it, could not run from it, as much as you desired to do so. 
This was why Anders & you had been guided down the very same road on the very same day... So that you could tell him that his brother's soul had finally found peace & salvation.

        That he had finally found life.

" I came here to bring him my favourite flowers, white lilies... This has always been a dream of mine. To share their beauty & purity with him. "

As the words continued to flow without you consciously thinking about what to say next your eyelids dropped down, sealing the slowly upcoming tears away from the outer world as your own mind appeared to invite you on a journey back in time; a procedure that would help you remember what truly happened in the past few hours.

" I felt... strange when I got here, a little dizzy & mentally disoriented, but even as my head was spinning & my mind just as foggy as my vision my feet continued to carry me to where I was meant to go... as if they already knew their destination. I felt disconnected from the world around me, was barely able to observe my surroundings... Even the guard that greeted me when I entered the graveyard seemed so 'far away', even though he was literally standing right next to me. I know he said something to me as I was passing by but I do not know what it was... because that voice in my head was louder. It was...  "

                        " My brother's voice... "

" He told me to keep on walking, to listen to him & him only....To trust him. At that point I did not know who he was, let alone why he was talking to me, but I simply knew that I had no reason not to do what he was saying. He wanted me to stop thinking, to stop worrying, to put my conscious mind to rest... & to just be aware. To allow...

To let it happen.  "

A warm sensation spread across your right cheek as a tear rolled down the fair surface of your skin; you had already completely forgotten that you did not want to cry, but the longer you observed the thoughts & emotions that continuously entered your mind instead of reacting to them you began to realize that they were not your own. Something, or 'someone', appeared to have taken over you if such a thing was even possible; though it was your voice that echoed across the graveyard you KNEW that someone else was talking, & in spite of these being your eyes you knew that the tears you were crying in this very moment were not your own either...

It took nothing more than a single image to flash before your inner eye for you to recognize that other person's identity.

                                        " She trusted me before she even knew who I was... so I knew that I could trust her as well. "

Notwithstanding the fact that your eyes remained closed you were able to feel that Anders was now looking straight at you, quite obviously in shock once he understood that it was his brother who was now speaking directly to him, his soul & consciousness tightly intertwined with yours.

                      " Pelle... Is... is that you?
Is this my big brother... I am talking to..? "

His logical mind, rebellious for the sake of his own sanity, but in his heart Anders already knew the truth: he & his brother, though separated by the stream that ran between the worlds, had finally come together, & you were the bridge connecting the two shores. 

 " I have missed you, little brother. "

[ to be continued ]