Muse #15: Good-bye

~*~
As the sun became nothing more than a memory, Maria DeLuca sat down on the
ground; her knees had become too shaky for her to stand. A summer breeze
kicked up laced with the smells of nearby meadows. Leaves from Oak tree fell
as the breeze continued; but Maria didn't seem to care or even notice.

In front of her was the literal reminder of a life that was lost. A reminder
of the reality of pain even at a young age. She let her fingertips trace the
engraved name as she changed position and knelt in front of the headstone of
Alex Whitman.

She sighed as she remembered the fun and goofy times she'd spent with Alex.
She frowned when she accepted the fact that Alex Whitman never got a chance
at a future because he had been friends with her and Liz Parker. She sighed
again as her eyes filled with the normalcy of tears and acknowledged the
hardened truth that Alex was dead because of who he knew.

His future was nothing but the dirt he was buried in because of the company
he kept. The future that had been waiting for him vanished. The Grammy he
might have won someday. The disease he might have discovered a cure for. The
wonderful husband he would have made a lucky woman. The children he might
have had who could have grown up to be saviors of a divided world. In a
blink, everything that could have been was gone.

Maria felt the hot breeze against her bare arms as she lit one of the candles
contained in glass that she was sure Isabel had left there before.

Guilt raked through her. The definition of farewell was beyond her. How to
forgive herself for letting Alex die without saying goodbye to him made her
heart ache. Without evidence to back up her misery; Maria DeLuca held the
weight of guilt fortified grief upon herself.

Hearing the sounds of leaves in the breeze, Maria hummed as a smile crossed
her face.

Remember the good times, she reminded herself, remember the Alex who was your
best friend. Don't waste time on guilt; he wouldn't want it that way.

"Goodbye, Alex." As tears streamed down her cheeks, Maria bent over and
kissed the headstone.

A remembrance and a farewell; each of them etched in stone.

end
~*~