As I walked through the tombstones, colors swirled all around me. Colors of red, orange, and brown. I watched as they all swirled into one color. The color of gold. Gold, bright, yet dim. Strong, yet compassionate. Gold, the color Johnny wanted me to be. I could still hear his voice in my head.
Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold…
I could still see his body go limp as he died. I could still hear Dally's anger. I could still hear as he cried out in despair.
Damnit, Johnny…Oh, damnit, Johnny, don't die, please don't die…
Had I stayed gold like Johnny had asked me to? I guess I have. I looked back on my life. Winning the court case; not fighting with Darry so much; graduating high school; Scraping up the money to go to collage. That one made Darry awfully proud. Becoming an English professor; getting married; having my fist child, then my second. I think I've done a pretty good job of staying gold.
I finally got to their graves. Two small markers, side by side. The two people that meant the most to me, in an eternal sleep. Even after all these years, I could still hear the beeping of the machines and the gunshots that marked them as dead. I could still see the dead look in Johnny's eyes and Dallas falling to the ground.
I put the flowers on their graves and let out a small whisper. "Happy Birthday Johnny."
"I miss them too." I heard a voice say from behind me.
I turned around and saw Sodapop standing there.
"It seems like just yesterday that they were here, Mom and Dad too." I said
"Yeah…" Soda said thoughtfully "Let's go visit them too."
As we walked toward our parent's graves, I hear a slight whisper in the wind.
Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold.