The Constant
The sky was dark and moody; rain fell softly against the black earth and camouflaged the tears that streamed down Leah's face.
A soft, but cold, breeze danced around the small group of people that gathered at the small cemetery where the edge of the forest met the black shores of First Beach.
"Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust…" the voice of the minister echoed across the road of waves as they beat upon the sand.
Leah brought a hand to wipe away the tears from her cheeks, unable to hold back the sobs that were bursting from her chest.
Flashbacks of her beautiful mother's memory made it impossible to hold them in any
The glimpse of her radiant smile and long raven hair.
Food-fights in their small kitchen.
Being tickled as a small child on a summer day.
Cold autumn nights sitting on the porch together watching a storm
Every memory seemed so long ago, so precious and distant, but the reality of now could not be pushed aside so easily.
Her mother had always been her rock. When things were tough, she was always there, always a constant presence in her life. And when her father died, Sue Clearwater was the glue that held her family together.
She felt someone step beside her and grasp one of her hands tightly in their own, small, cold fingers; it was Bella Swan, whose own cheeks showed signs of wet tears.
Leah leaned her face into Bella's long brown hair, and hid her grief from the rest of the Pack who stood silently, along with other members of the community at Sue Clearwater's final resting place.
Seth Clearwater was seventeen years old, and he stood at his sisters side as still as a statue. His face was solemn, all except a single tear that filed its way over his lips.
He grasped his sister's waist and held her upright so tightly, that his knuckles were almost white.
Darkness had spread across his soul, like the storm clouds above. His anger against the earth and his sadness of being robbed; so evident in his heavy stare that did not leave the earth where his mother's coffin lay.
'Why? Why? WHY?' the question pounded his heart and mind, like the waves that pounded the reservation cliffs in the distance. And no answer came.
Charlie Swan looked like a broken man. He stared listlessly at the coffin as it was lowered into the earth. In the last years of her short life, he and Sue had been inseparable; Charlie thought at last, he had found his soul mate, only to have her torn away from him with the blink of an eye.
Jacob Black stood beside his father's wheelchair, his hand resting comfortably on Billy's shoulder as a sign of support. His eyes however, rested on Leah. He ached to be at her side, but he was comforted that Bella had gone to her instead.
Sam and Emily Uley stood together, holding the twins, who were now toddlers in their arms. Sam tried his hardest to support his wife, who was barely keeping her emotions at bay, for Sue Clearwater had been like a mother to her, even if she was truthfully only her aunt.
Quil, Paul, Embry and Jared – the remainder of the Pack - stood united, but at a respectful distance. They were still on alert, ready to patrol their boarders for any signs of their enemy.
Billy chanted softly under his breath, asking the Great Spirit to protect and support Sue's spirit on her journey to the afterworld.
It was a sad day in La Push, but the world would continue to move on and forget those that were grieving. He would be there to make sure that those that were forgotten by the outside world, would not be forgotten by their family, or by their people, but most importantly, he would be there to remind them; to remind them of a woman who once lived and loved and would continue to live in each of their hearts.
"Goodbye Sue," he whispered softly to the wind, "I'll help them remember…"