Prompt 051 Grave
Character: Patrick
Patrick stood in silence and tugged his jacket tighter around himself to keep in his body heat as the wind rushed over the land. He didn't visit this place as often as he should have, but with his transport heading off planet soon, this was likely his last chance. It was possible that he would be able to make a trip back home eventually; but there was also the chance that he'd never come back to this planet ever again. That hadn't been something that he'd considered when he'd signed up, but it was a reality he'd come to accept. And having accepted that possibility he also knew he'd regret not having visited one last time.
He'd only been to visit the grave a couple times since it had been erected and he'd always felt bad about that. There was something about it though that just made him uncomfortable, so he avoided it. His parents had never pushed him to visit either so he'd had nothing to force him into facing his unease. There was just something about the tombstone that made Patrick want to turn around and walk away. It was stupid really, as it was only a stone, but there was so much emotion attached to such an ancillary object. The few times he had come before he basically just stood there and said nothing, not really understanding what he was supposed to do. It was odd that he found the concept of talking to the gravestone as though it were a person stupid, when he would often talk in a similar fashion to the tech he worked on.
He wasn't even sure how he should begin, or if it would simply be pointless to try. He used to start their conversations with 'hey dweeb', but that seemed disrespectful to say to someone that was dead. Maybe he'd just skip on the whole talking thing, as she didn't really believe in spirits or that Ben would somehow hear him. He just stood in the empty cemetery going over what memories he still had of Ben. That was the real purpose of a grave really; it was a monument to remind you, to keep the memories of the dead alive. Though slowly, over time, those old memories would be replaced by ones of staring at a stone in a sort of sad irony. It was probably a good thing then that Patrick hadn't come by too many times, as he didn't have enough memories of Ben when he was alive to risk them being outweighed by memories of his grave.
Patrick pulled out his phone and glanced down at the clock, frowning at the time. He needed to head home and pack up his things before he had to head out. He wouldn't be able to take much with him so it wouldn't take him long, but he'd wasted enough time as it was. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and let out a long breath. "Well, see you later little bro." He nodded to the grave, feeling foolish the whole time, before he turned around and walked toward his home. It was better not to be late for his ride to boot if he wanted to make a good first impression.