Chapter Six: A Year Later
Alyson's POV

Tomorrow's my eighth birthday. Exactly one year ago, my parents went on their walk.

I looked out of the car window and saw autumn trees fly by. Their leaves shedded. Now they display a colorful scene on the ground. The clouds were gray, mourning over this day with me.

"Do you have the flowers?" Miss Val asked, trying to peek at me while driving.

"Yeah." I nodded.

In my hand was a small bouquet of tulips. -(Bouquet Pic)

I tightened my grip on them.

"Almost there, I think." Miss Val said, looking around at the gravestones.

I let my eyes wander, and then I wished I hadn't. I saw millions of gravestones. All of them stood for someone who died. Most of the gravestones had either flowers or a flag...or both.

I frowned.

Someday I'd have my own gravestone, too. Everyone will.

We came to put these flowers beside my parents' gravestone. Miss Val said we'd do it every year, along with bringing them flowers on their birthday.

My thoughts wandered even more. Does everything die?

I sighed, finding my answer. Most things do. Everything that lives, dies at least once.

"Aly? Still there?" Miss Val laughed a little at her small joke.

"Sorry. Stuck in a daydream." I smiled and got out of the car. I kept my eyes on the grass, not wanting to see the gravestones everywhere. We walked forward. I looked up slightly and saw my parents' grave.

I turned around, my eyes squeezed shut. It burned. One look at that grave and it made me remember their cold, dead faces. Mom's face had bandages. I remember Dad had one wrapped around his stomach.

I forced my eyes open, struggling to keep from blinking. When it went dark for even the slightest second, their faces appeared. The funeral. Everything.

"C-Can we leave?" I sobbed.

"Sure." I felt the flowers in my hand disappear.

Miss Val's POV

I placed the flowers in the rusty cup above the grave; then went to the car with Aly. I felt terrible for bringing her here. She didn't even want to come. But I felt afraid to leave her there at my house because of what happened to her parents.

The day the police found those bodies, we couldn't turn on the TV. The news was everywhere. Magazines, newspapers, TV....

Now, none of the kids in our neighborhood are allowed out. The beach was closed.

I got in the driver's seat while Aly got into the passenger seat. I looked over and saw that she brought her knees to her face, covering her sad expression.