This is written in response to a Writer's Challenge. Just a short one-shot.
He looked both ways, waiting for a car to pass before he sprinted across the street, keys already in his hand. He opened the driver's side door of the black Mercedes 450SL convertible and slid onto the seat. Seconds later the engine purred to life under his soft touch and he pulled away from the curb sedately.
It had been several years since he had given up the old Porsche. It had started to cost too much to keep it on the road. The 450 was fast becoming an antique as well, but was destined to last him a lot longer if he continued to give it the care he had given the German sports car.
It was a beautiful sunny day as he steered the convertible towards the bridge and into The City. He hadn't been over the silver span in awhile, but it was important that he make the journey today.
Keeping his eyes on the road, he reached across the front seat and flipped open the glovebox. He rooted around until he found it – an old cassette tape. He blew some lint off it before slipping it into the player in the dash then hit the rewind button.
It had become a ritual, something he did once a year. The journey, and the song, were a part of who he was now, and what he would continue to be for the rest of his life. He had been doing it so long now that he knew exactly when to start the tape so that it and his pilgrimage would conclude simultaneously.
He found the beginning of the song then popped the cassette out, ready to go. He turned to knob on the radio until he found the '70's classics' station, allowing his mind to drift back to that time in his life. It always made him smile.
Traffic was light, and the trip went quicker than he expected. As he turned another corner, getting closer to his final destination, he took a deep breath, forcing it out through compressed lips, and pushed the cassette into the player.
As the first few deceptively simple guitar cords began, he smiled almost self-consciously, and chuckled, like he always did. It wasn't a song that anyone would have associated with him, an overly sentimental piece of music that, though moderately popular in it's day, was dismissed as 'soft rock'.
But from the first time he heard it, it had struck a chord with him. And though he had forgotten about it with time, he had stumbled across it a few years ago while flipping through stations on a road trip to Tahoe – and it had brought back so many emotions that he had had to pull to the shoulder, suddenly unable to see through the tears that had sprung to his eyes.
He braced himself as the lyrics started, swallowing heavily, his throat tightening.
"You sheltered me from harm,
Kept me warm, kept me warm,
You gave my life to me,
Set me free, set me free"
He felt the hot tears start to roll down his cheeks as he smiled, thinking back. A warmth spread through him as he blinked quickly, grateful that the route he was taking wasn't busy. He turned the car onto the road alongside the high iron fence, approaching the entrance.
"The finest years I ever knew
Were all the years I had with you.
And I would give anything I own,
I'd give up my life, my heart, my home.
I would give anything I own,
Just to have you back again."
He turned onto the hard gravel driveway between the cemetery gates. It seemed like the convertible was almost driving itself, he had made this journey so many times. He swung onto the road on the right, continuing slowly, pleased to note that the place seemed deserted.
"You taught me how to love,
What it's of, what it's of,
You never said too much
But still you showed the way
And I knew, from watching you."
He stopped the car, cranked up the volume and turned the key to Accessory, the song continuing to play as he opened the door and got out, reaching into the back seat for the small bouquet of flowers. The song followed him as he crossed the short distance to the dark gray headstone.
"Nobody else could ever know
The part of me that can't let go.
And I would give everything I own,
I'd give up my life, my heart, my home.
I would give everything I own,
Just to have you back again."
He stood quietly for a couple of seconds, closing his eyes, letting the words of the song penetrate his soul.
"Is there someone you know
You're loving them so
But taking them all for granted?
You may lose them one day,
Someone takes them away,
And they don't hear the words you long to say."
He opened his eyes and kneeled, laying the flowers on the grass then reaching up to gently run his fingers across the name chiseled into the granite. His bottom lip quivered and the tears flowed faster. He could no longer breathe through his nose and was thankful no one was around to hear him sniffling. He pulled a white handkerchief out of his pocket, chuckling slightly as he did so.
"I would give everything I own,
I'd give up my life, my heart, my home.
I would give everything I own,
Just to have you back again
Just to touch you once again."
He didn't move as the song came to an end, and the silence settled comfortably over him as he got to his feet. He glanced around, but he was the only one there. He knew it would be that way; that was why he chose this day to come. Others would come on the birth or death anniversaries, but he had always come on this day, the day that had changed his life forever.
The day they had met.