Disclaimer: Sisko is not mine. Star Trek is not mine. Bajor is not mine. They are Paramount's.

This chapter's pretty short, but the next one will be much longer. Tell me what you think!

Could not follow it in its flight

His eyes were as cold as the stones. Next to each other, precise squares that formed a precise rectangle, garnished with flowers, as Earth tradition dictates.

Kasidy Danielle Sisko nee Yates

2338-2419

Beloved mother,

Dear friend

Jacob Isaac Sisko

Dear husband, father, uncle.

"Your friend is your needs answered.
He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving.
And he is your board and your fireside.
For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace." – Kalil Gibran

2355-2468

"I wanted them to put a quote from Anslem or The Fourth Sun on it. Those were always my favorites. But Cara and Ceri decided that he was too modest."

"I think it suits him." Ben said, flatly and quietly.

"Nog cried so much at the funeral. You've never heard so much whimpering." Lila told him, but he wasn't listening.

"I told her I'd be back. I told her I'd come back." He felt like crying, but no tears came.

"You couldn't control it. It'd not your fault."

"It is my fault. I should have been there. I should have been there when they needed me."

"Needed you?" Suddenly, the air had turned from bitter to sour. "She did not need you. She wanted you, but my mother was strong. She did not sit around waiting for you to come back. She had a child to take care of. She had a job. We had a life more then just missing you."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to… I know that Kasidy was strong. I know that she wouldn't have sat around and waited for me." Sisko said, now more upset and angry with himself. "I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize. I shouldn't have snapped at you."

They stood in silence.

Jijiji

Sisko stepped into the main room of the temple, feeling the eyes of the monks staring in awe behind him. He knelt in front of the shrine, and began the Bajoran Death Chant.

"Ahn-kay ya, ay-ya vasu. Coh-ma-ra, di-nay-ya…"