To The Dark
2 roses in her hand.
2 roses that cannot stand.
1 rose falls to the dark.
The single rose, drained of it's color turned stark.
After the fire had been put out, I told Lynn that Syd and I were okay. After the paramedics checked everyone, Lynn took us all to a hotel downtown to stay for the night. When we got there, Syd and I went to the same bed and I held her as she shook from shock since she had always been fearful of fire. Now she had a real reason to be. Sooner or later we both fell into a peaceful sleep.
The next day, we woke about five hours after noon. We were both still exhausted from the events of the previous night. After we dressed, Syd and I went on a walk. I still had the two roses in my hand. We walked along the town for a couple hours, until we came to the deep trench that I would always go to when I was little. I would take dandelions and blow them into the trench because it was so beautiful.
We walked hand in hand to the edge of the trench. Since it was night, the bottom couldn't be seen. It just looked bottomless. That it was never ending darkness. Syd took one of the roses from my hand and held it out over the trench. She looked back to me for a sign of approval. I nodded my head yes and she dropped the rose. While it dropped, the ash and soot flew off and it seemed as though it were draining of it's color. It was truly, terribly, beautiful.
When we were done, we walked back to the hotel and just enjoyed each others company for the time I had left. Which wasn't much.