Chapter Two:
Easter 2004
There were thousdands of people in the stadium.
There was only one time Matthew Harker had ever seen this many people, and, coincidently, that's why they were all here.
Thousands of people, dressed in red, now comfortably packed into an area that was usually only home to 23 at a time. It was a tearful sight. There were thousands of tears too, maybe even millions. They were everywhere. They splashed the cheeks of children as young as 8. Many of them weren't even born at the time, but nonetheless, their tears were falling as freely as the adults' around them.
There were litres of tears on the cheeks of women. The emotional sex, as his father called them. His mother was a terrible cryer. She cried about everything. Spilt milk. She was standing beside him now. Tears flooding down her cheeks.
Matthew's big brother was beside her. He glanced at Matthew with a soft smile. Robert, named after their father, was playing the usual big brother role. Now Matthew was the youngest he'd have to get used to that.
Robert wasn't crying. He was a tough bloke out in the open. He'd cry tonight. He'd cry later. He'd cry tomorrow. Matthew couldn't decide which was the worst day of the two.
Their father, Robert SNR, was on Rob's other side. He was standing still and stiff, like many of the other fathers in the stadium, but tears were glistening on his cheeks as well. You couldn't not cry. That dull ache. It still hurt.
Matthew rubbed his cheek with his free hand. His other hand was gripping his wife's hand for support. Her support for him.
She hadn't been there that day. She didn't know. They all ran through his head, those horrid thoughts, everytime he brought her here. Then he realised again. She didn't need to know. She loved him, she knew it hurt him, and she helped him with that. She listened when he recollected. She kissed away the tears when he cried. She gripped his hand when she could sense it was shaking. She didn't need to understand. He didn't need her to.
He glanced at her. She was wearing his spare jersey. It was way too big for her. She looked like a child in her father's shirt. She looked beautiful.
She caught his eye and smiled, but tears were in her eyes. Matthew fell in love with her all over again. he slowly smiled back.
The stadium was almost empty, except for the small crowd of people in the centre on the pitch.
There was Anne, Robert, Rob, Matthew, his wife Kate, Rob's girlfriend Emily, Susan Rickman, Thomas Rickman, Anne's niece Alex Foster, her boyfriend William, Anne's sister Yvonne, Christopher Rickman, Nick Klein and Sam's childhood friend Greg Hallifax. They were standing in a circle, looking everywhere but the small urn in the middle of them. Almost all the men were staring at their feet. Matthew was looking up at the stands across from him. Nick was looking at his hands. Almost all the women were crying into their hankies. Alex was staring blankly into space, tears not seen but obvious they were once there.
Anne finally looked up from her hankie and cleared her throat. "We're here today to remember my little boy, Sam." She stopped, overcome by a new wave of tears. Robert put his hand on his wife's shoulder but she shook her head. She was determined to continue.
"Sam died in a horrible accident, along with five other officers, having a good time. He was a good boy, a lad, and he loved having a good time with his mates." Nick and Greg smiled sadly.
Anne continued. "We're here today not because this is when Sam died, but because Sam wasn't just a good officer and a lovely son, but also a diehard Liverpool fan." Robert, Rob and Matthew shifted slightly.
"This afternoon we all remembered th death of 96 of our fellow Liverpudlians. My Sam was at that game. He was in one of those pens, with Matthew, and they saw the full horror of the disaster. They lived, unlike many, and i thank Christ for that everyday." Kate glanced at Matthew and squeezed his hand.
"He had a bigger plan for my two youngest boys. Matthew went to university, he became a doctor. He saves people. He makes sure no one ever dies unnecessarily again."
Rob touched Matthew on the arm proudly.
"Samuel, he followed the family trade. He decided to become a policeman. He hadn't wanted to be one before. He told me when he announced it to everyone, he'd wanted to be a football player, and he was good at it to, but after the disaster he wanted to be a policeman. He wanted to make a difference. he wanted to be one of a new breed. A policeman that really cares."
Robert and Rob glanced at each other. Robert smiled at his son. William glanced at Alex. They too were both officers. Nick looked at his hands again.
"Sam was an incredibly loyal person, and he loved this city with all his heart." She laughed softly, sadly. "He couldn't even bring himself to love anyone outside it."
She glanced at the Rickmans. Cass' father, brother and sister were standing there. Cass' mother had been too ill to attend.
"Sam fell in love with the most beautiful girl in Liverpool. Had he been given more time, well, i'm sure they would've been okay."
Cass' father smiled. Christopher nodded approval. Susan wiped her eyes with the back of her fingers.
Anne looked down at the urn. "In this urn isn't Sam'sashes. They were scattered a while ago. Instead we cremated his Liverpool FC jersey. He loved it, and i regret not cremating him in it, but now we can remember."
She lifted the lid off the urn and smiled sadly down at the contents. "Sam. You saw death at the age of 17. You grew, you made a difference. Finally, you saw death again at 30. You loved only three things in life. Your job, your family and friends, and finally, your football team. Now you're with Cass in heaven, and you died in your second home, we send you this. May you rest in peace my precious baby boy."
She lifted out the ashes and scattered them across the football pitch.
Anne was a spiritual person, something she knew she'd be alone, but even she could see it in everyone's faces. They knew, somewhere up there, Sam was looking down on Anfield Stadium, on his friends and family, and he was smiling.
