Silvery flakes drifted down, glittering in the bright light of the silver moon. The blackbird swooped down, shrieking at nothing as he landed softly on the top of the bell tower, silhouetted against the navy blue sky, littered with twinkling stars. He watched silently as a lady sat on the oak wood bench placed in the graveyard, covered in dewey droplets, the gentle rays of the moon making them look like liquid silver.
Her short chocolate brown hair covered her face, the blackbird couldn't see anything but what she was wearing. A grey blue dress hugged at her curves and black shiny stilettos, wet from the grass were laid down on the bench next to her. Her caramel arms were crossed and she was shaking slightly. Whether this was because she was cold being outside at this time of night without a coat or jumper, or because she was crying, wasn't evident. Suddenly she stood up, pushing her head back, hair falling to the side of her face, revealing a tear like a crystal falling down her cheek. She walked forwards, snaking her way through the tall stones to one in particular.
Gingerly, she knelt down, brushing the cold stone with her shaking hand. There were vein like stems of ivy overlapping each other, flat green leaves contouring the simple shape of the gravestone.
"In Loving Memory of Cleo Benton,
An Amazing Wife and Sister. Missed Always but Forever in our Hearts.
8th January 1971- 3rd October 2007 "
The lady kneeled in front of the gravestone, eyes glittering in the moonlight, tears spilling down her cheeks. The blackbird once again shrieked and left the bell tower. He swooped in a graceful arc before descending, landing softly on top of the stone. As the lady looked at the blackbird, he could see the hurt in her eyes, too much of it. She bent her head down, no longer in awe of the blackbird.
"You must be ashamed of me. How could I compete with you though? You made falling in love look easy, yet all I can do is wreck my relationships. The only thing I can do better than you is fail. I wish you were both still here." She looked across to the stone next along from her. Its name read: "Daniel Benton". "I wish you could give me a hug, tell me it's all going to be okay, even though it won't be. This time I messed up Cleo. I really did. He doesn't love me anymore. I don't know what to do, I don't think I can fix the mess this time." She put her head in her hands.
A hand was on her shoulder, but when she looked round she couldn't see or hear anything but the blackbird.
"I just wish you could be here, with me."
She stood up, taking with her her damp stilettos. She made her way back out of the graveyard, only pausing at the gate to to back towards the grave. Not just a grave, her sister's grave, 8 years ago today she was still alive. Back on the stone the blackbird looked at her and called out, it sounded strangely like "Zoe".
