The gray sky swarms above her and the clouds threaten to unleash the rains. The only color that meets her eyes is the muted green of the grass. The only sensations she's conscious of feeling are the biting chill of the wind and the stifling cold of the dew as it penetrates the canvas of her shoes. The only thing that accompanies the pounding in her head is the desperate desire for this to all be over – and the fear that it will.
She has walked this path countless times over the past several months. She even walks it in her dreams. Maybe this will be the last time she walks it. Maybe it will be just another visit in the stream of many. She hopes for the former.
As she approaches the cold, hard stone, her fingers instinctively press themselves against it, tracing the letters as they have done a thousand times before. Each time she removes her hand she finds tiny flecks of stone embedded in the pads of her fingers. The small gray speckles mar her perfectly white complexion. The English major in her almost finds it poetically symbolic. Almost.
Suddenly remembering the wildflowers she clutches in her left hand, she loosens her grip before placing them gently at her feet. The bouquet splashes her vision with color, clashing with the somber surroundings and her darkening mood.
In the last few months her world has been turned upside down and has yet to right itself. A part of her knows that it never will, but there remains a part of her that knows she has to try. That is what has brought her here today – the need to conclude this part of her life. The need to find peace and acceptance where she is convinced there is none.
She lets out an exhausted sigh before tilting her gaze toward the clouds and shaking her head, "You're right. I can't go on like this."
"But you're going to go on."
A single drop of rain splashes on her cheek, threatening to crumble her wavering resolve. "Vaughn, we were so happy. Life was finally starting to…" she breaks off, unwilling to finish her train of thought.
"It's not over. You can't let it be over when it's only just begun. You're a strong woman Sydney. You're talented, beautiful and a wonderful mother."
"You've never even met her."
"And yet I love her with all my heart."
She marvels at the irony that her sanity is dependant upon conversing with ghosts. Sanity that is quickly deteriorating.
She rubs her hands together in an effort to warm them. Watching absently as the slivers of stone fall lifelessly to the ground, she asks the inevitable question.
"Are you going to leave us now?"
"You know that I have to."
"Will she be okay?"
"As long as you are."
She pauses for a moment, contemplating whether or not to speak the words that bite at her tongue. In the end, they come out, heedless of her desire to stifle them.
"I wish I could touch you."
"I know the feeling."
He comes closer, achingly close to her fragile form, and whispers softly, "Syd, you're going to be alright. You have to believe in yourself… like I believe in you."
She looks into his gaze as the rain spills from the clouds, mocking the tears that will not fall from her eyes.
"I love you," he says after a moment. "I love you so much."
"I love you too."
"You'll be okay."
"I know."
"She'll be okay."
"I know."
"I'll watch over you."
She smiles for the first time in months. "You'd better."
Placing her hand on the headstone, she crouches down, leveling her face with the inscription.
"I love you, Michael Vaughn. But I have to let you go."
"Sydney," his voice comes softly from behind her, "will you do me a favor?"
"Anything," she says without missing a beat. "I would do anything for you."
"Make sure she knows how much I love her."
She rests her cheek on the stone and closes her eyes, silently vowing that her daughter will not only know of her father's love, she will feel it. It will warm the girl's tiny heart as it warms her own, she can promise that. She softly presses her lips upon his name. The one thing that can never die, she knows, is love.
As she turns and walks toward her car, the rains taper off and the sun tentatively peeks through the clouds. She recognizes it as a sign of hope, of light and of brighter days to come. A future. She opens the door and looks back to the figure that stands in the distance. He, like she, is safe, loved and finally at peace.
-----
That's it... I hope you all enjoyed it. Thank you for reading! Feel free to let me know what you thought...