Only someone with an awful lot of time to explore would know that Wammy's House had a graveyard.

Most thought that the property extended only to the fence line, near a small grove of trees, but it actually went much farther than that. The aforementioned trees lasted for about half of a mile before thinning out into a small meadow, then the forest began again and went on for several more miles along with the property owned by Wammy's.

The meadow contained the graveyard.

It wasn't a big graveyard, by any means. There weren't even half a dozen tombstones, but they were all lined up in a neat row. All the inhabitants were buried within the past ten years.

All of them remain virtually anonymous.

No dates. No personal information.

Not even their full names.

A. Samson
Where, O death, is your victory?
(1 Corinthians 16:55)

B. Barker
For now I would be lying down in peace;
I would be asleep and at rest.
(Job 3:13)

M. Jeevas
I will fear no evil
for you are with me.
(Psalm 23:4)

M. Keehl
The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.
(Revelation 22:21)

November 4, 2011
2:07 PM

The newfallen snow looked absolutely beautiful, and Mido couldn't get enough of it.

He hadn't seen English snow for more than fifteen years, and when he'd seen the glorious flakes falling yesterday morning the doctor had almost cried out of happiness. Snow in Japan was unexplainably different than snow in the English countryside: dirtier, not as crisp, and maybe even less sparkly. He'd been missing the northern winters for more years than he cared to count, and they just weren't the same as the cool "winter season" in Tokyo.

At least, that's what Mido could have sworn that early afternoon as he stood quietly out on his own and observed Wammy's small graveyard.

...Well, he was alone at that exact moment. But he wasn't an idiot: he heard that someone was walking up behind him. They probably think I'm meditating on death or something.

"You're back here again?"

Mido smirked as he recognized the voice and glanced over his shoulder. "It's... calm here."

A laugh. "Calm? It's bloody freezing! You're not considering bringing these people back to life, are you?"

He snorted. It's not that cold, Mido thought as he completely turned around to face his former secretary. "You know couldn't do that to a half-decayed corpse... Actually most of these bodies have been burned from what I understand. And besides, you also know that I learned my lesson."

"What," she asked, "don't bring people back from the dead?"

"No," he said, "don't do something when it's clear my wife doesn't think it's a good idea."

His secretary - his spouse - chuckled to herself and couldn't help but glance at the new diamond ring on her finger. "Wow. Only two months and you've already learned."

He smiled. "I don't teach here for nothing."

"No kidding. I swear, you're the only person on the payroll without a degree from Harvard or Princeton."

For a moment they stood in silence.

"Who were they?" she asked suddenly. "I mean, the graves are new, but they don't have standard information on them..."

"Only three people - three living people - seem to know," Mido said. "One is L. The other is Roger."

"Lemme guess... you're the third lucky one to be informed?"

"And if you get your way, you're going to be the fourth." He sighed.

"Of course."

The doctor paused. What could it hurt? Slowly he began, "A. Samson and B. Barker were the first two children to be brought to the orphanage several years ago. From what I understand, anyone worth asking for information is... rather reluctant to talk about them much. I don't know exactly why, but A apparently committed suicide and burned himself to death."

His wife inhaled sharply.

Mido winced, then continued, "A few years later, B attempted to do the same after killing three people in Los Angeles and trying to create a homicide case that L couldn't solve. He was caught, however, and ended up living the rest of his life in a California prison before being killed by Kira only a year afterward."

"...It all comes down to Kira, doesn't it?" she whispered.

The doctor just nodded.

"Who were the two M's?"

"They were the second and third ranked at Wammys when Kira killed L," he said, "and they both died on what was basically a suicide mission." His expression became sour. "It is actually quite unlikely that Light would have been stopped as Kira had they not died, though. Even Near admitted that much."

"They should get more credit then this," she muttered under her breath.

Mido thought about it before shrugging. "Maybe so."

"...And... I don't suppose I have to ask about the final tombstone," she whispered.

Almost painfully, the doctor glanced at the last effigy in the row.

N. River
The fruit of righteousness will be peace.
(Isaiah 32:17)

"Did it hurt?" she asked. "Giving it up, I mean."

"Burying Near for good?" He thought for a moment. "Yes. Yes it did hurt at first."

The look on her face became one of concern. "Does it hurt now?"

He closed his eyes and answered, "No. Not at all."

She frowned slightly. "What made that change?"

He swallowed and exhaled. "When L told me to stop... to give up... I couldn't understand his reasoning." He paused. "No, that's not right. His reasoning was justified: he wanted to make sure that no other dangerous person was ever brought back again. I got that much, but... I couldn't get over what it would mean for me and the future. I didn't want to give up the only life I knew just because he thought it would be better that way. Hell, I didn't want to face the world again after all that. And... what's more... I couldn't understand how he was so cold when it came to the decision. Near was like a family member to him, and for him to drop any hope of bringing him back to life... It made me mad, because it didn't register as right."

They were silent for a moment as Mido's wife took in what he had said.

"I see your point... But you didn't answer my question. Why doesn't it hurt any more?"

There was a long pause, and finally Mido sighed. "I convinced myself that I was being a selfish prick, first, and then forever guarenteed that I would have an exciting life by getting married."

Mrs. Mido tried to disguise a small giggle.

He smiled and rolled his eyes in a joking manner. Slowly, though, his face became serious again. "But... while those were both good reasons to move on physically, mentally I didn't feel sound with my plan at all." He slowly exhaled as he gathered his thoughts.

His wife's concern was back. "So... you technically still haven't answered my question."

"...I'm not going to get out of this one, am I?"

"Nope."

The doctor pursed his lips. "I let it go completely, but only because... L told me... about Afterwards. Only then was I really able to bury Near with a clear mentality."

She frowned. "Afterwards?"

Mido met her gaze. "Afterwards."

Clearly she was confused, but after several moments her eyes widened in realization. "Oh. The Afterwards."

The doctor offered a small smile and nodded.

"What... did he tell you about it, exactly?"

"Just one word. But that was all he needed to say."

"...What was it?"

The doctor blinked. He looked at her. He looked at the gravestones. Then he looked up at the sky before closing his eyes and softly replying.

"Peaceful."

And somehow, that was all the explaination anyone could have ever asked for.

"You know," he confessed, "sometimes I wonder of that was my real reason for bringing back the dead in the first place. I didn't know L or Light, and though I felt indebted to L and Mr. Yagami I doubt that alone was enough to motivate me. But... to know what comes after death... that's all that really matters, you know? I mean, it's not to say that you can't live life or anything, but... we'll all die someday."

She nodded. "I get it. 'By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.'"

"...God said that in Genesis, right?"

She nodded. "It's a part of the ultimate statistic: ten out of ten people die. So we had better be damn sure what happens on the other side before we die, because this is the hand of the game that counts. Is that basically your way of justifying everything you did for L and Light?"

"...I did it for them?"

She shrugged. "Well, they both got another chance. So maybe Light didn't deserve it, but at least L will end up dying happy because he made the world better." She turned to face Mido. "They get to live again, and you get the answer to the most important question any person has ever faced handed to you on a silver platter. Everybody wins, no matter how you look at it."

They were both silent as they mused over all of what they had said.

"I don't deserve you," he muttered.

She smiled softly and rested her head on his shoulder.

"...L got lucky," she whispered.

"Hmm?" He turned to her, confused.

"Well... he did get another chance at life."

He raised an eyebrow. "You call that lucky?"

"Near didn't get that chance, did he?" She turned back to the graves. "I consider L lucky, then."

"Well..."

Mido thought about that for a good long minute.

"Honestly... Sometimes I wonder which of the two is better off."

"Hmm..." She opted not to comment and glanced at her watch. "Come on, Mr. Philosophy, you've got a class to teach soon."

"Alright. You start to bead back; I'll catch up with you in a moment."

Slowly she turned around and reluctantly headed into the trees.

Mido slowly walked forward, closer to the tombstones. He carefully went over them all again and questioned it all in his head.

Where, O death, is your victory?
(1 Corinthians 16:55)

For now I would be lying down in peace;
I would be asleep and at rest.
(Job 3:13)

I will fear no evil
for you are with me.
(Psalm 23:4)

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen.
(Revelation 22:21)

He knew in the back of his head that he should be getting back. He knew that he wouldn't be able to leave the last grave easily.

He knew that he wouldn't be able to stop himself from looking anyway.

The fruit of righteousness will be peace.
(Isaiah 32:17)

"The fruit of righteousness will be peace..." he mumbled. "The fruit of righteousness... will be peace... The fruit... of righteousness will be peace... The fruit..."

That reminded him of something.

Mido reached into his pocket and pulled out a small apple. He'd been planning on eating it later, but somehow this just seemed... right. He stooped on the ground and set it on top of the pure white snow that rested above the grave belonging to N. River.

"From one human to another," he whispered.