Then There Was You

The cold November breeze blew against the back of Andrew's neck making him shiver a bit. He wore his best and only black tuxedo, his blond hair had been fixed neatly to suit his formal attire.

"Hey," said Kairos as he approached his friend bringing him back to reality. It was just yesterday that they had left Al de Baran for Prontera.

Andrew looked up from his reverie at his best friend, standing in front of him. Although, he had worn his best clothes which would have complimented his handsome features, Andrew had looked extremely tired. He had puffy eyes that made him look like he had wept and a sulking appearance to him.

"Mm?" He replied to Kairos weakly.

"How are you?" the friend asked sincerely. He sat beside Andrew and fixed his deep blue eyes at his friend.

Silence had occupied the two's conversation. For a long time, Andrew kept silent and back to hi reverie remembering something of importance. Then he spoke in a low voice, "I want to see her now." He stood up from his seat so quick as if a shock of electricity passed through the pew making him jump up to his feet.

"Are you sure?" Kairos need not know his friend's answer, he knew what was going to happen.

Andrew hadn't looked back as he slowly paced himself towards the altar of the chapel. Every pew was lined with white laces and the aisle littered with flower petals, the people inside the chapel too were dressed up to their best. It would seem as a beautiful wedding except for the part that most guests were grieving. Each face saddened by this terrible loss. He had reached the white casket by the altar. The cover was opened for friends and relatives to see what lay inside. She was dressed up in a long white gown, flowers by her side and a tiara that added a delicate touch to her beauty. She looked as if she was just sleeping, every feature was peaceful and a soft smile lingered around her lips. Andrew examined his friend's dead body. The wounds were well erased by the makeup that was placed.

Asleep. She's just sleeping. Andrew desperately thought. Sleeping. His friend's death had affected him so much. "Pauline…" he whispered desperately to her dead body. Quinn had just been a poor substitute for Pauline, all along, he was longing for Pauline to love him back. But now was too late. She was dead.

He went back to his seat beside Kairos wiping a few tears as he made it back. Kairos had placed his hand on his best friend's shoulder to comfort the grieving man…

A mass was held before they buried the casket. The sun was now half-way up in the sky, its golden rays created the silver linings around the clouds. The procession started right after the mass, they had lifted the casket to its respective grave at the burial ground behind the chapel. Andrew was one of the men who had helped in moving the casket about.

The day was hot, but the wind was cold. Andrew kept shivering due to the chilly breeze as he and the others gathered around her grave. As the casket was lowered, the Priest said a few words before the first handful of dirt was thrown in by Pauline's father…

"… We shall never know the glory of her birth, but we shall always remember the glory of her death." The Priest then closed his book and gave a small nod to Pauline's father instructing him to say a few words before his daughter would be completely covered with dirt.

"Pauline will forever be remembered in our hearts. She had sacrificed her life for the safety of the masses. She was a perfect daughter and friend." He scooped a handful of dirt from the ground and threw it in the six-foot deep grave, then looked away as other men armed with their shovels began to fill up the grave.

After the burial, Andrew stayed an hour more when every one had left. He kneeled down beside the headstone bearing Pauline's name and the words inscribed "Requiescant in Pace."

"Pauline," he whispered her name as he remained kneeling beside the grave. "I have lots to tell you. I guess it's too late for us to catch up with each other's business, huh?" He was talking to a gravestone, but it did not matter to him if he had looked like an idiot. He did not care, it was for Pauline anyway. Andrew told stories about his last visit to Izlude, that time when he had met Ralph with her and how jealous he had gotten of him. He told about life in Al de Baran, and about Quinn, how she had been a poor substitute for her. All this time he was searching for her acceptance, afraid of rejection he left for another city or town. His stubbornness caused him something unforgivable. He hadn't once professed his feelings to Pauline, and now that she was dead, there was no way that he could.

The cold air brushed on the back of his neck for the third time and made his hair stand on end. He noticed as the cool breeze blew about, the flower petals that lingered the gravestone were also being blown along with the wind. Andrew looked up after a while into the distance where he saw Pauline. She was emanating some kind of white light around her as she stood there under a tree. The white gown and tiara made it easy for Andrew to realize that the person was indeed Pauline. She was inviting him to come to him. Andrew had not believed what he had seen until he had approached the woman. As he gently caressed her cheek he couldn't help but cry. He buried himself in her embrace. Was this real?

Later that day, Kairos had found Andrew motionless near Pauline's grave. He was alive, but he was not able to recognize the people or the things around him. Some say that he had gone mad with extreme depression over Pauline's death. Others say that his soul had left his body and followed Pauline's into the next world…

The cold breeze blew at the back of Kairos' neck as he visited his friends' graves. It had been a year since, both of them now dead.

Kairos had placed a bouquet of white flowers on both graves as he readied to leave. "Rest in Peace my friends."

December was approaching fast and nature was getting ready for the snow…

A/N: Okay, so that ending sucked. As far as I'm concerned this fic is done. At last and after that long writer's block. I don't know when I'll be writing again… Heh. Not soon. New lessons are up and I have to pass the exams at the end of the school year… then I'm off to college. Lolz. Yeah, if you had noticed, I changed the POV. I got tired of writing at 1st person, it's not my style… I was experimenting. Lolz. Well, if I'm up to writing again I might write about another love crap story again. Heh. (Oh no.. not again) Okay, see you again!

Kalikasan (aka Kali)