Rowen opened his eyes to the four pairs of onlookers who were his friends. He blinked his eyes a few times to rid himself of the fogginess before reality hit him square in the ass. He bolted upright in the hospital bed, making three of the four boys jump (A/N: Guess who didn't).
"Where's Jay Lee?" he asked grabbing the closest boy by the collar, who happened to be Ryo.
"Take it easy, Ro," Ryo said. "She's two hallways down still under quarantine."
"No she's not."
They all turned to look at Sage who was leaning against the wall. Rowen's eyes began to tear again. Sage looked at the three puzzled boys as Ryo tried to pry Rowen's hands off of his shirt. Sage looked at each of them square in the eyes, as if telling them mentally what he meant.
"When we rushed you here, she was ten minutes away from crashing. When she did, you were unconscious in the ER and mumbling things like 'Ya scarrin' me Jay,' and 'Ya had ya whole ahead of ya.' The doctors worked for half an hour to stabilize her.
"Rowen, Jay wascalled five minutes ago. She was moved from quarantine and placed in the morgue. She's gone, Ro."
Rowen had trouble coping with the fact that she was actually gone from this world. He trusted what she said; that the stars would watch over her until the time came that they would be reunited.
They all went to the funeral. At least fifty other people where there, friends, loved ones, family that flew in from Korea. They were all here to see her off safely. Mr. and Mrs. Yun asked if Rowen could say something, seeing as he was closest to her than anyone. He was last to speak, but he didn't know what to say.
He was up until three in the morning, writing things down from his mind that he wanted to say. It was close to four when he finally settled on something. Deprived of sleep, and the speeches made by the other family members bringing more tears, he approached the podium that stood in front of the cherry wood coffin.
He stared at the coffin, it being closed for understandable purposes. There were pictures all around on tables placed near lit candles of various colors and sizes. The sky was clear and birds did sing on a lovely day, but that wasn't really the case.
He reached into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, unfolded it and placed it on the podium. He took a few deep breaths before he began.
"I was asked to say something in remembrance of Jay Lee Yun," he said. "Though no amount of words can say how I really feel right now, or how I've felt before this tragedy. I spent most of the night thinking about what to say, and how I would say it and this is what came up.
"Death becks and whispers slyly, in our ears. 'Come. Lie down. And softly sleep.' So easy now this slumber, deep; so quite now the pleasures of a life… of a love I have for you.
"'Come. Sleep,' says Death, 'And give up strife and striving and lie down to rest. Then nevermore the tiredness to weep not once again.'
"Death. What treachery thou hast to lie so softly to our weariness. For Hell itself is gained by giving up. Each backward step but takes us nearer to a brink of Fierce Endure and each back pace we make is but a stride we'll have to take 'gainst the tide again.
"How glib, how easy now to purr 'Death is but sleep. Lie down and rise no more.' For death and sleep alike but slide us down a grade that we must climb if we would then be free.
"What humor it must be to Death; when we find out we have but lost another mile. We must make back and find from off the bier the weariness of a life, of a love, unrecompensed with friends, family or what we learned the last.
"'Give up!' thus speak the traitors of our lives. 'Grow tired, old and Die! And be no menace to us now whose life you threaten with your breath.'
"A placid far and unreached day 'twould be when I laid back and let the song of death bequeath me tortured; miles I must face up again."
Rowen paused to wipe stray tears from his face. He closed his eyes to build up his composure before he continued. The words he speaks having more of an effect on him than the rest. Keeping his eyes closed, he continued.
"Then let us be happy you are gone from this place. Let us all hope and pray that you found a place worthy of your footsteps somewhere you could actually be happy. Know you will never be forgotten from our lives, our hearts. Know you will one day come back to us, or someday, our own time will come to be with you."
He opened his eyes and looked out upon the group. There was applause and smiles of happiness and sadness on everyone's faces. The parents of the deceased nodded their appreciation towards the boy they knew well like another son. Rowen joined in the applause, all turned toward the most recent picture of Jay Lee. She wore the white gown Rowen saw in his dream. A bouquet of white lilies in her hand as she posed in a picture from a wedding that had recently passed.
The one thing Rowen noticed about the picture was what she wore around her neck. The silver twelve pointed star with a diamond in the center on a silver chain he gave her for her birthday. He placed his hand over his heart, feeling the bulge of the very pendant through his clothes.
I'll keep my promise, he prayed, knowing she could hear him. I'll come for ya when my time comes.
THE ENDA/N: Well? What do you all think? This part was going to be a song fic, but it would get too long with the song I choose for it. The other two parts are long enough as it is. Review please and tell me what you think.