Time it was, and what a time it was
It was
A time of innocence,
A time of confidences
Long ago it must be
I have a photograph
Preserve your memories;
They're all that's left you
By the next day, the site of Jade's death is marked with tributes. Her pile of photographs, teddies, flowers and cards lies beside Vicky's in a haunting reminder of how they once hoped to spend their lives together as the best of friends.
One photograph lies between the two heaps of tributes. It is a small photograph, the ink running from the rain that fell last night. Two girls are on the photograph: one is pale, with light brown hair in a plain cut. She smiles shyly, not looking at the camera. Jade is looking at the girl beside her, a confident redhead with one hand on her hip. The redhead seems to be sticking her tongue out at the camera, a cheeky glint in her large eyes. If you look carefully enough, she is sticking her tongue out at Jade – not with malice, that you can tell by her playful attitude and the way Jade smiles back at her.
Underneath the photograph is a card. It is written in bubbly handwriting, with various circles and hearts above each letter i, the trademark hand of a confident teenage girl. However, the words are not confident and bubbly, rather a tragic plea:
"To my best friend,
I could have saved you. You didn't save me, and for a while I blamed you for my death. That explains how I acted towards you, I guess. When you ran out at the inquest, I knew it was my fault, but I was too angry to do anything about it. Now I ask one thing of you – your forgiveness. I can apologise better if I see you face to face. I bet I will. You'll be an angel for sure. You deserve it more than I do.
Lots of love,
Vicky."
A/N: A very short chapter, more of a short study than anything, but I'd rather make a lot of impact with 297 words (I counted) than waffle on with five or six hundred words. Thanks to my reviewers, madasmonty and jazzykid1! You guys rock for proving someone's reading this story! The song in this chapter is "Bookends", and it's by Simon and Garfunkel.
