((THere you have it...the last chapter. Enjoy and Please COMMENT. I'm lazy at editting hEHEH XD))
Chapter Fourteen: Anniversary
A black Mercedes Benz pulled up the street and parked right across from iron gates. The doors opened and three people of varying heights got out. One was the driver who was over six feet, had mahogany hair with an odd streak of white and wore shades. He wore a black Armani suit and the chain from his pocket watch dangled against his outer thigh. Two was a little girl with raven hair halved into pigtails and stared at the iron gate with big, round sapphire eyes. She wore a white Elvin-styled gown with off the shoulder butterfly sleeves and periwinkle trimmings. Lastly was a boy who could easily have been the girl's fraternal twin. He had bronze-colored hair and blue-gray eyes that can glare a hole through any material. His expression reflected the older male's. Solemn. The little girl giggled and skipped merrily across the street. She waited for the others at the gate.
"Hurry up, slowpokes!" she giggled. Her eyes traveled upwards toward the arched sign that read "Manzanar Cemetery". The other males followd after, carrying a bouquet of tiger lillies. The tall man opened the gates and lead the way.
"Manzanar's a funny name for a graveyard," the girl chirped.
"It means "apple orchard" in Spanish", her twin said.
"Oh, so can we eat them?" the girl asked.
"That—would be ill-advised…to eat the fruits of the dead…"her twin paused. "Persephone".
"What is a purse-phony? Gasp! Fake accessories made in sweat shops?" the girl concluded.
"No," he answered, quickening his pace to match his elder. The trio passed dozens of tombstones. Many were unkempt and the inscriptions on them had started to deteriorate. In the far corner of the cemetery sat a lone apple tree on the tiniest knoll. The tress was full of white blossoms and in the winter would rain petals on the grave that lay at the foot of the trunk.
The tall man placed the flowers down in front of the grave and brushed the debris off of the headstone. The two children had gone off playing among the more grandiose tombs. He sighed and knelt down on one knee. His index fingers traced the engraved outline an angel holding a spear in one hand with words underneath:
"Here lies Rowan Triste.
The Black Lady, Beloved Mother, Adopted Sister, Wonderful Hospital Patient and Warrior.
She was the bravest of the All."
He sighed and removed his sunglasses. His eyes were the color of the ocean, blue and murky.
"They forgot to add, 'she left too soon,'" he commented. "Long time no see, lover." The man smiled and embraced the slab of stone. "I hope you are happy wherever you are."
A little breeze answered his words. An apple blossom disconnected with its branch and siblings to land gingerly on his head.
"Don't move," a velvet voice command from behind, "Gabriel." The brunette felt the barrel of a gun pressed against his skull.
The man hissed, "What do you want, Daraniel?"
"To finish my job," Darian answered.
"Were you not fired from your job?" Gabriel mused. Click.
'Shut up! This should be easy since you're human," the red-haired man stated.
"Am I? How do you know that I have not evolved into a demon?" the other male goaded.
"I'm positive," Darian answered.
"Please…you and I both know that Rowan still has a few tricks up her sleeve even when is dead," the other one said respectfully.
"Liar!" Darian's voice wavered.
"Watch," in one swift move, Gabriel grabbed a handful of dirt, spun around and flung it into Darian's eyes. The gun dropped from the red-haired man he tried to claw the dirt of his eyes. Gabriel gained possession of the fun and followed through with an elbow to nose which shoved the cartilage into the skull along with a series of gunshots at the critical organs. Bambambam! Darian fell backwards with a look of surprise and a fountain of blood sprouted forth.
Gabriel shrugged off his jacket and wiped the blood off of the tombstone then he draped it over for additional protection. He glanced over his shoulder and could have sworn the bastard's last words were "Cleareye". He stooped and looped his arms under the body's armpit and dragged away the corpse.
The two children froze when they heard the gunshots. The little girl uttered a cry and ran into the arms of safety of her brother. One figure was obviously winning. The other had fallen. Who was who on the knoll.
"Is it father?" the girl sobbed, fat tears ran down her chubby cheeks.
"No…he would not dare to leave us," the boy stated matter-of-factly, "not like this anyways."
The last few words made the cry even harder. There was an alarmed response from the boy and he pattered her back uncertainly.
The one blob is the distance merged with the second blob and left together. The children waited patiently for their father to return. Slowly a figure walked towards them. They held their breaths and watched the person come closer. The two children's heart throbbed frantically in their chest and ears. He came closer and closer and closer.
The boy caught the gleam of sapphire eyes and relaxed his protective stance. His sister still trembled with fear.
"Wha-what if he's dead?" the girl asked.
"We'll give him an apple from Mother," the boy answered.
"Father c-can't come back with Vitamin C!" she cried.
"Fruit of the dead," he reminded her.
"But those are pomegranates!" she squeaked.
A tired laughter startled them. A mahogany-haired man stood a few feet away with them with scratched, dirt-caked hands.
"Who died now?" he inquired innocently.
"Daddy", the girl exclaimed, rushing towards him with rosy cheeks. She buried her face into his vast shirt and carefully minded the debris.
"Come on, you two," Gabriel walked on towards the Iron Gate with his daughter clinging to his leg. The boy scuttled beside the father and kept staring at him with inquiring eyes.
"Father, what happened there?" he asked.
"I will speak of it when you understand vengeance," Gabriel promised.
They stepped beyond the looming door and crossed the concrete river of chaos. Gabriel brushed the dirt from his hands and waited patiently for his children to buckle in safely. His eyes took one last look at the cemetery. In the distance, under the shade of one of many apple trees, stood a white outline of a woman wearing his bloodied Armani coat and she was waving.
Gabriel sighed, shoved his sunglasses up his nose, got into the car and closed the door. He turned the key in the ignition and heard it purr to life. He adjusted his rearview mirror and stomped on the gas.
"I never told you why your mother loved tiger lilies so much, did I?" he said to fill in the silence, his voice slightly strained.
"No…" the twins answered slowly. "In the language of flowers, they mean "Dare to Love," he said.
"Oh", the girl said flatly, obviously still depressed.
"Oh," the boy exclaimed, the light bulb turning on his head.
The Mercedes Benz drove on into what ever time of day it was: dusk, noon, sunset or twilight.
In Memory of Thomas White
I never got to talk to him again and I forgot his middle initial.
Be happy in Oklahoma, Tomcat. 3