"Hey Dad, it's been a while since I've come to visit, huh?" Elysia stood in front of her father's grave on top of the grassy hill. She was hoping she would get some kind answer this time. Something that would tell her that her father was hearing her, "I see mom has been taking care of you. It's always so clean here and there are always new flowers."
She lowered herself to sit in the grass and be eye level with the gravestone. It didn't feel right to stand above him. After all, all her memories of her father were when she was only three years old. Even though she was thirteen now, she still wanted to feel like she did in her memories, "Oh, right! I had my birthday yesterday! It was a lot of fun! All of my friends from school came and stayed for a sleepover. We tried to stay up all night, but we all fell asleep."
Feeling a small lump form in her throat, she decided to change the topic, "Mom is always talking about you. How you were always a great father. How you were always able to make time for us, even with your busy work schedule."
She rested her head on her knees. Often, she would sit there just and think about what her life would have been like if things didn't turn out the way they did; if her and her mother would be happier, "I'm finishing grade eight this year, I'll be graduating from middle school in June. Mom's planning a celebration dinner for me. She's inviting Uncle Roy and Aunt Riza; Edward and Winry; Alphonse and his wife, May. You haven't met May, but I bet you two would have been good friends." She sat there for a moment, feeling the sun's warmth on her back. She tried to imagine it was her father hugging her, just like she remembered, "I know mom is always saying that you're in a better place, and that you'll always be watching us. But sometimes… sometimes I just wish…"
Tears began to stream down the face that had always smiled when Maes was around, but now that smile was just a shadow of the past. She had pushed herself too far for her own good. For countless nights when she was a child, she cried herself to sleep in the shelter of her mother's arms. But now she was alone, sitting before her father's grave, remembering everything that she had lost ten years ago. That night had been replayed in her mind so much, that it was almost like she was living it now; her father kneeling down to give her a tight hug and saying that he was going to be home early, but he never did come back.
Forgetting the time, she sat there with her head between her knees, quietly sobbing to herself until she couldn't cry anymore. Her eyes felt puffy and her heart felt as if all the sadness had been cried out. She took a moment to fix herself before looking up, "Sorry. I didn't mean to cry like that." She said to her father as she stood up. Suddenly, a warm breeze came out of nowhere and danced around Elysia. She started to laugh, feeling that somewhere her father was really watching her and still protecting her. Looking at the sky and seeing how low the sun had gotten, she decided it was time to go; her mother was probably making dinner by now.
"I'll see you later, Dad. I promise to come again soon." Elysia grabbed her bag and ran home. Going to visit her father was something she needed once in a while. The graveyard wasn't a place of mourning for her; it was where she could feel whole again.