The guilt is strong and ceaseless, flowing through his veins as a river and crashing over him in rough waves that break when he least expects it.
He is drowning in the pain and the shame. The burden weighs heavy on his shoulders, smothering him as he struggles to surface.
No number of hands he clasps in tearful thanks, no number of heartfelt reassurances he hears, will change the fact that he visits the cemetery just a bit more often than his godson.