The tree hanging over me was a blessing, the firey rays from the sun could no longer beat on our scalps. Peeking through the leaves, the sun casted dim light over us; the river to our left gently humming the clashes of water on the shore-line. I raised my right hand, gripping the neck of the old, battered down acoustic guitar I'd gotten from my oldest brother a few years back. Across from me sat everything I've ever lived for. Her name's Mary, the smooth, creamy context of her facial features complemented her olive-brown eyes, the light beaming off her radiant leopard printed headscarf, her eyes which stared into mine with intent, love and passion; mixed in with past emotional heartbreaks and regret. I stared into her eyes, sliding my legs closer to each-other and folded them in a meditating fashion, placing the guitar on my right knee-cap, and slid my fingers over the top, hoisting them in a position able to play. Staring back into Mary's eyes, I began to tear, the sun moving down ever so slightly shun on her face, her beauty shown to me in it's purest form. I cared a lot for Mary, we'd been together the past two years, shared passion, hate and rage together but we had one thing that held us together, love. I practiced my next few lines for the past weeks on end, perfecting it all in the right notes to make bliss into a sing-able expirence. I stared down to my battered guitar, feeling my eyes bulge with water and my throat begin to tense up, I realized I needed to sing; fast before I broke down. I forced my jaw downwards, staring back into Mary's eyes, tears streaming down my face with the past two years and everything I ever stood for on the line. My hand skillfully slid up and down the guitar strings, starting the song as she rested her head against my pacing chest I began to serenade, serenade to a woman who would be there for me no matter what happened, I began to serenade my

I kept my eyes locked on Mary the whole duration. She started out strong, shooting me a dim smile her cheeks dented by the ever so cute dimples she wore everyday, eventually furrowing her eyebrows and raising her hands, cupping them over her eyes. She wept halfway through, not being able to handle the emotional depth of the lyrics. It probably sounded a lot better when I'd practiced it then when I'd sung it to her now that I look back, my voice was hoarse but I forced the lyrics out and my hands to move along with them. I looked over to my right for a split-second, taking my eyes off of Mary to rest my guitar on the grassy enviroment, the sun ever so beating down on us from above looking back into her eyes after. I watched her hands go back down to her sides, her face glistening from the tears streaming down her cheeks. She leaned forward, eyebrows furrowed in a submissive manner, whimpering out to me before muttering, "Oh, god." I leaned in with her and we met lips, her soft, bright-pink lips pressed onto mine, I felt her give a gentle sigh into my mouth, My right hand instinctively raised to grace her lower-left jaw line, resting my finger-tips ever so gently on her cheek. We kept our eyes closed for the duration of the kiss and she leaned back with due time, resting her forehead on mine, staring into each others eyes I felt my heart thud a thousand miles a second, still madly in love. I heard her whisper she loved me, and we'd always be together, little did I know, it was true.

I never wanted this day to come but I knew it would. Sixty years, five kids and a infinite marriage later, it happened. I knelt over placing both hands onto the casket infront of me. I stared down to Mary, her hands folded over her waist-line clutching a bouquet of flowers in it, a blurry vision for the tears pushing their way out of my eyes. The depressed environment didn't add to anything but I never noticed it, the sounds of loved ones crying in the background, small talk mixed with moans and cries of babies. I drowned all of the noise out and gently turned my jaw to look down to Mary eyes shut and make-up placed ever so lightly on her face, Mary hated makeup "work of the devil she used to call it", a picture on the lower-end of her casket, reflecting her heart of gold and stunning beauty. I leaned over and placed my old, chapped lips on hers in one final goodbye, feeling my heart shatter into pieces knowing she left. I felt a dominant hand come over my right shoulder but payed no attention to it, assuming it was my son's grasp. My old, weak heart being shredded to pieces, trying to compensate for the love of my life face to face with me for the last time. I rested my face down close to hers and pursed my eyes shut, feeling my tears jump off of my cheek and onto her formally-dressed outfit. I whispered that I love her, I didn't do it to hide the fact, I did it gently to re-assure her I was still madly in love at the age of heart, thudding like it did sixty years ago, planted under that tree. I opened my lips and began to speak in a shaky tone, forever singing her death with the tune that brought us life.