Alone in the Dark
The year was 2055...
...and a man stood at a cemetery.
Will looked down at the fresh earth, crystalline tears brimming in his eyes. He knew it would happen, he just hadn't wanted it to. There was nothing he could've done. Nothing, nothing... It had been out of his hands, but he felt guilt all the same.
He had been his companion so long ago, his alley, his friend. Will closed his eyes and memories flashed across his mind. He saw him, how he had been so many years ago, youthful, bright... living. White hair, near translucent skin and tawny eyes, like an owl. Or a cat. Not small, but not big and a smirk he carried until the end. And those shadows of tough arrogance Will had wanted to take away. He never had the chance to...
Bran had lived a full life; he had moved from Aberdyfi, he had married, had children and grandchildren, and... died. Will couldn't stand looking at grave anymore, and turned his back to it. Why? Why did he have to suffer so? He had lost his parents, Max and Gwen, Stephen, ah, and Paul, ever the special one, went out with a bang. He hardly had anyone left...
Will turned 'round to look back at the gravestone. He chortled bitterly at himself, "Foolish, contemplating things don't help anyone, least of all myself..." his bitter laughter soon became tears as he dropped to his knees, "Bran, I'm sorry... so sorry." Will knew the words had no meaning. He hadn't, after all, done anything he needed to apologize for, but it felt better to, he wasn't sure quite why.
He ran his hand along the marble headstone, tracing the letters. They read:
Bran Davies
1967-2055
Loving husband, beloved father,
unrecognized hero.
May he rest in peace.
Will had thought of the last one. Bran's family didn't know what to make of it, but willingly agreed. Will found himself tracing the letters in 'hero' again and again. He was unsure whether time had sped forward, or slowed down. Stopped altogether, maybe? Couldn't be; the sun set faster and soon he was sitting in the dark. "Alone in the dark," Will mused, running a hand over Bran's name, "that was my worst fear, even after I became an Old One." He smiled halfheartedly, "It still is, too."
Will couldn't remember how long he had sat at Bran's grave, it felt like years, and he felt the age of the years too. But he had sat there all the same; he didn't exactly care. He still had his painful watch to keep, all the same...
The year was irrelevant...
...and an Old One sat alone...
...Alone in the Dark.
