Note: The final chapter of Raggedy Anne. It documents not only Annabelle's funeral, but a lot of insight into What Was Your Past, Jack?. This chapter (and all of What Was Your Past, Jack? is in Jack's Point of View) and I WROTE THE POEM ON ANNABELLE'S GRAVE, SO NO STEALING! I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND POKE YOU! I went on an online translator to find what Jack says that's in German, so if it's badly translated, blame Google for bad results.

I don't own Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim Burton does.

If you've noticed, I stopped bothering with my start-of-chapter quote. Boo hoo, go cry on someone who cares.

Chapter Seven

Annabelle Louise Skellington

Faded like the sun

When it sets to make room for night

When the stars have fled the scene

And the moon is the only faceless illumination

When the corpse-pale illumination does glow

And the moaning of the dying is as a lullaby

The souls of the damned do hear as they sink

Into eternal sleep.

That is what Annabelle's grave read, and will read every day. I'm still not even sure if she is dead. We never saw a body. We saw her fade away, like a shadow in the dim light of the moon. But that is all.

After her... undeath? Redeath? We don't know what to call it, but for the sake of conversation, we'll use the term "death" for now. After her death, well, you can only imagine the paralyzing shock that sifted through my bones. It was all I could do to keep the images out of my head. The images of the horrendous suffering that six million people suffered, and I was one of the six million. But I was not one of the sufferers... I was one of them who caused it.

It was all I could do to not start screaming at the top of my lungs in German. In fact... if memory serves me correctly...

"Annabelle! Kommen Sie zu mir zurück! Verlassen Sie mich nicht! Meine Tochter! Nicht!" I remember shouting. I remember Sally looking at me confusedly, and for good reason. When had she ever heard me speak -- let alone shout-- in German before? Never, that's when. But she was suffering as well, I could tell. Tears flowed down her face like miniature waterfalls. And who wouldn't suffer after their only daughter, just a girl at eighteen, faded away like a memory long since past...? "Here in an instant, gone in a flash" isn't that what I said once?

I remember... she didn't really belong. The others teased her, made fun of her...

Hurt her...

I remember when I stormed out to find that kid Marco who had caused her so much pain. I found him hanging out with Lock, Shock, and Barrel by the river. They swore they had nothing to do with it. I beat that Marco within an inch of his life...

No...

Wait...

I remember now. I beat him to death. He hurt my daughter, so I beat him until he begged for mercy, his vocal chords muffled by blood, then died.

"Sieh Sie in der Hölle, Kind." I remember saying. Saying "See you in hell, child."

I wish I could have been there for her more. She was such a moody child.

I wish I could have been a better father.

Oh Annabelle, can't you forgive a foolish old skeleton?

Werden Sie zu mir nicht zurückkommen?

Won't you come back to me?

END