"Daryl? Are you okay?" Carol asked a sad-looking Dixon.
"Yeah…" He replied, scrubbing his arrows maybe a bit harder than usual.
"What's wrong?" She pressed again.
"Nothing. Everything's okay." A tear threatened to escape from the otherwise stoic redneck.
"Today's the anniversary of her death." Beth said from her position across the campfire.
"Who's death?" Carol asked.
Daryl glared at Beth. "Sayral's. She was...this girl I really cared for."
"What happened to her?"
"She got bitten at the start of this damned apocalypse. I've hated myself ever since."
"Why? It can't be your fault she died."
"Yes it is! I vowed to…" He stood up and his voice faltered.
Carol grabbed his jacket sleeve and tugged. "Would it help if you talked about her? Maybe starting at when you first met her?"
Daryl looked around the campfire, at all the expecting eyes. He sighed and sat back down. "Fine. I first met her when we were both five."
-Daryl's POV-
I went over to the neighbor's house with Merle to get some much-needed eggs and milk. We lived pretty far out and didn't have the time to go to the store. A girl about my age answered the door. "Hiya!" She greeted us.
"Hey. Is your ma or pa home?" Merle asked. The girl nodded and went off to get them. Merle noticed me staring and teased me. "What, gotta crush or something, lil bro?" I shook my head and glared at him.
The girl came back hiding behind her mother's leg. "Hello boys, may we help you?" The woman smiled at us.
Merle nodded. "Can we borrow some eggs and milk, miss?" He asked. The woman nodded and headed inside after inviting us inside. We followed her in and sat at her kitchen table while she gathered the stuff for us. I tried not to stare at the girl. She caught my gaze and smiled. Giggling, she asked where we lived. "Next door." Merle replied. She giggled again and ran off.
The next day, she invited us over to hang out. She introduced herself when we met halfway Merle had to introduce both himself and me - my mouth had grown dry. Everyday after that, we hung out. She taught us to sew and cook, and we taught her how to hunt. Sometimes, when Merle was in juvie or elsewhere, it was just the two of the us. I liked those days. Every day I saw her, I could feel myself slowly falling in love with her. I think Merle noticed and backed off of her.
One day, when we were 16 and it was just the two of us, I decided to claim her as my woman. But only if she loved me back. I turned to her and asked her if I could tell her something. I could feel my heart racing as I cupped her chin and kissed her. I could feel her initial shock and got scared that she didn't like me back. I was wrong. She kissed me back and made it more passionate.
After about a minute, we took a breather. I told her I loved her, and had for a very long time. She blushed and bit her lip. She looked down and told me that she felt the same - ever since we first met. I smiled and kissed her again, pressing her up against a tree. She wrapped her legs around my waist and I claimed her there and then.
We never officially got married, but we were always together and we started calling her Sayral Dixon. A couple of years after I took her, we both agreed to start trying for kids. Every time we thought she was pregnant, she either miscarried or it was just a scare. We eventually found out she was infertile. She cried a lot that day, we were absolutely devastated.
Then this damn apocalypse started. Merle and I took her with us when we ran. Merle wanted to leave her, saying she would just slow us down. But I refused to leave without her - I had vowed to her and myself that I would keep her safe through this whole thing. We had finally found somewhere to stay the night. We were just about to leave the next day when a horde of zombies had chanced upon us. We didn't see them till it was too late.
We tried to run, but one of them grabbed Sayral and bit her. We got to another small safe haven where we noticed her bite. She burst out into tears and kissed me. "Daryl...please shoot me…" She whispered against my lips. I shook my head, refusing to do it. She begged and begged for me to shoot her, to end her life before she turned. Merle ended up having to do it. I couldn't live with myself if I killed the one I loved. Merle ended up having to drag me from her dead body.
-Back at the campfire-
"The only reason why I went on was because Merle convinced me to keep going for her because she could no longer could." Daryl finished, staring into the flames. Everyone was silent for a moment before they realized he had finished. Everyone whispered their apologies. Daryl shook his head. "It's fine at this point." He got up and left the campfire, a single tear left his eyes.