I Will Remember You

I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories



Ephram stood there, stoic and frozen from grief and the biting New York cold. He only half listened to what the clergyman was reciting from his old leather book. He was more intent on what lay before him. It was Claire. Claire Noel "Twiggy" Campbell. They'd been close friends since the playground days, but gradually has become less and less close as the days went by when his father had moved them to Everwood. He wondered if he hadn't moved if he still would be standing here. She was tall and thin, hence the nickname "Twiggy". Last time Ephram had seen her, her long, soft brown hair had been half-way down her back and glittered blonde in the sunlight. Claire had pale pastel blue eyes, and their color almost made it seem like the irises were clear. Next to his mother's, they were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. Now he would never see either again.


Remember the good times that we had?
I let them slip away from us when things got bad
How clearly I first saw you smilin' in the sun
Wanna feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one


A tear escaped the corner of his eye. 'Dammit...' He wiped it away but couldn't stop the silent cascade of those to follow. 'You were the one who was supposed to make it. You were the smart one. Even when I moved, you still helped me with my homework.' Ephram smiled inwardly at the thought of Claire trying to explain the concept of nuclear equations and the half-life of radioactive elements to him. It still confused the hell out of him. But, then again, she wanted a career in Radiology after school was over. She said that she 'wanted to play with radiation'.

His father's hand on his shoulder startled Ephram out of his reverie. He squeezed and Ephram sniffed back. Ephram looked at his fallen friend's casket and felt the miniature soccer ball that he had in his pocket. It was her favorite sport, and the only one she played. Her parents had begged her to play basketball, because of her height, so in the 7th grade she did. He remembered being there, rooting her on at her first game, and watching her grab her first rebound from the end she was defending, only to shoot it back up and score. God, her face had gotten so red! Claire never played again after that.

I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories



The clergyman called for last respects. Ephram walked up behind Claire's older brother. He didn't want to do this, he didn't want to have to say goodbye to someone he loved again. The only thing that pushed him forward was his father behind him. He shuffled his feet up to the side of her casket. She looked different...peaceful. Yes, that was it, she was finally at peace. Her hair was short now, and he wondered why she cut it. She had loved her hair. He ran his hand down her pale cheek. Ephram placed the small soccer ball by her pillow. It was black, her favorite color. He never asked why.

"See you later, Twiggy." Ephram whispered to her as he brushed his lips on her cold forehead. He sniffed again. "I'll never forget the midnight games in Central Park."

Behind him, Andy wondered what his son meant by that, and wondered again if it was right to ask. He said his goodbyes, his eyes falling on the ball his son placed in the casket. Scribbled on it in white was "Twig-46, Ephy-0". If he would have looked to the other side, he would have read highly coded message that he could never understand.

I'm so tired but I can't sleep
Standin' on the edge of something much too deep
It's funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word
We are screaming inside, but we can't be heard

Ephram walked away from Claire's grave site as fast as he could. He stepped behind a tree, blocking his view from the end of the ceremony, and slid down the rough bark, chipping chunks off onto the ground beneath him and his coat. Ephram drew his knees up to his chest and buried his head into his arms. He stayed like that, trying his hardest to control his tears, until a rustle of the last of fall's leaves snatched his attention.

"It's alright Ephy." A body plumped down beside him.

"Hey, Twiggy." Ephram mumbled.

"16 inches. Donated it to this charity that made a little kid with cancer a wig."

"I never thought you'd ever part with your hair. You freaked out when you saw a split end."

"Yeah, well, I don't really need it." A moment of silence.

"Why..."

"Ephram..." His day dream Twiggy sighed. "I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think...I couldn't deal. I was so tired..."

"So you swallowed the whole bottle."

"You make it sound so harsh."

"You killed yourself. How is it supposed to sound?"

Claire didn't speak. She turned her head to face Ephram. "He's trying so hard, Ephram." She leaned closer and quickly kissed him on the forehead. "Don't forget to stop and smell the roses. They might not be there for long." And she was gone with a wisp of the chilly air.

"Later." He mumbled as he felt the spot where she had kissed. Warm. He laid his head back down on his knees.

But I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

"Ephram..." Andy slightly shook his son's shoulder. "They're going over to Claire's parent's to get a bite to eat, share stories. Do you want to go, or do you want to go back to your grandparents'?"

"N-no, I want to go." Ephram lifted his head. His eyes were puffy from the tears. He chuckled. "I want to hear what stories they have to tell...or rather what ones they can tell."

"Like midnight games in Central park?" Dr. Brown smiled.

"Like the time she dressed up in a squirrel suit at Halloween and chased me down the street."

"What?" Andy raised an eyebrow. Ephram started to laugh.

"At her last away game, she soaped and T.P.-ed the bathrooms. BOTH bathrooms."

"She was pretty sneaky..." Andy said softly, calling on some of his old memories of Claire.

"...like the salt in your coffee instead of sugar?"

"I never did get her back for that."

Ephram sniffed and ran his coat sleeve across his face.

"In the summer...we'd sneak out and meet in Central Park. We'd play soccer. The last time we played it was 46 to 0. She kicked my ass."

"I'd say so."

"I don't know how she could pull off all those crazy things with her feet and not trip every time. Twiggy was the biggest klutz." Ephram smiled at the memory. The two sat there for a few more minutes before they both started to shiver from sitting on the cold ground.

Andy stood up and held out his hand to Ephram. "C'mon...they're probably waiting for you."

I'm so afraid to love you, but more afraid to loose

Clinging to a past that doesn't let me choose
Once there was a darkness, deep and endless night
You gave me everything you had, oh you gave me light

Ephram looked up at his father and let him pull him up from the ground. "Remember that really ugly picture frame with the flowers all around it?"

"Didn't she give you that for Christmas?"

"Yeah...that thing was hideous. I don't know where she found it."

"And didn't you give it to your grandmother the next Christmas?"

"Yeah...and she thought it was pretty." Ephram started to laugh. The two were silent.


And I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories

And I will remember you
Will you remember me?
Don't let your life pass you by
Weep not for the memories
Weep not for the memories

Disclaimer: "I will Remember You" and Everwood characters belong to whoever wrote it, meaning not me. I'm just borrowing. Twiggy is mine, however. And the squirrel suit.