In The End

          His footsteps crunched on the soft, wet grass as he walked closer and closer to the headstone sticking out of the ground. The sun was just beginning to set in the horizon, casting a slight red glow over the sky. The soft steps behind him grew louder as he neared the grave, reaching their peak just as a cold wind blew past him. Even he, bundled tightly in the jacket he wrapped around her time after time, shivered slightly. He stopped a few feet from the headstone, looking down at her name, date of birth, date of death, and a short passage that read “A true angel to all she knew”. He bit his lip, trying hard to hold back the tears. He had made it to the funeral the day before but was so torn up that he stayed in the very back of the church, leaving after a few short seconds. The only part of him that remained there was the poem he’d written which was read on his behalf.
          “It’s beautiful,” said the owner of the second pair of footsteps as she stepped beside him, looking up at the sky. “Isn’t it? How the sun just mixes everything? It’s like one of those events that come once in a lifetime. That, if you don’t just stop and look around you, it’ll rush past, and you’ll never get the chance to experience it again.”
          “You always did have a way with words,” said the guy, his eyes not moving from the ground. The two of them stood in silence, side by side, the one beside him smiling faintly as she spoke once more.
          “How was the turn out?”
          “I didn’t stay for long, only a few seconds. I…I just couldn’t. It was packed though. The entire church was full. People I didn’t even know. The family had…the family had said a lot of nice things in the time I was there.”
          “That’s good to hear.”
          “It’s…” He paused again, staying silent for close to a minute before finishing. “It’s not going to be the same anymore.”
          “I think it would be a little weird if things were exactly the same,” she said laughing softly. Silence quickly flooded in around them once more as even the birds seemed to drift away from the place they were standing, the wind seemingly getting colder.
          “I’m…thinking about leaving. This place I mean. Maybe go out…see the world. It’s one of the things we talked about doing together…”
          “Just make sure to bring me back a souvenir and we won’t have any problems at all,” she said, another soft laugh escaping her lips.
          “I’m so sorry. I’m really, really sorry.” For the first time he moved his eyes from the headstone and turned, facing her, looking at the beautiful smile that he remembered could make all his pain go away. “It shouldn’t have happened. I should have-“
          “Don’t,” she said firm yet still kind, the smile still on her lips. “It wasn’t your fault. You did what you could to stop it.”
          “You’re…you’re just telling me what I want to hear”, he said, his voice cracking slightly.
          “That’s what a lover is supposed to do sometimes and, in this case, it’s true.” She smiled again, that same smile that was able to make his pain wash, no matter what it was, and make him smile to. He looked down slowly, returning his eyes to the headstone as a slight smile appeared, then faded.
          “I still love you,” he whispered softly.
          “I know. I still love you too. Take care of yourself, alright?” He slowly looked back up at her, her smile fading slightly as their eyes met one last time.
          “I will...” He waved to her, the wind blowing softly, the chill parting slowly as the remains of the love he lost drifted off and away. He looked up at the sunset, his eyes tearing up more as a slight smile appeared on his face. “You’re right…it is beautiful….but only because of you…goodbye…”