Dying Wish

[40]

The service was smooth. An eloquent man talked for some time. Although he never met this boy called Gray McCarter, he said he felt like he did. Maybe those were only words. I'm not so sure. The testimonials were plentiful and passionate. The likes of Kyle, Peter and Aaron stepped up to talk about what his friendship meant to them. Eli represented Smiley's; he glorified Gray's high ethic and willingness to do the most menial jobs with vigor. There was something true about that. About him.

"Would anyone else like to say anything?" the orator offered. His gaze shifted to the second pew on the left. There sat a group of girls. One had lush chestnut brown hair and black laced clothes. Throughout this part of the service, he felt a strong energy from her body. Everyone else felt it, too. It'd only be right if the finale was hers.

Her teammates worried for her.

"Alice, you don't have to do this."

"Yeah, if it's too much."

"It's fine," she said to them. Hannah lasered her eyes to the way Alice mounted the podium. Her stride was steady. A pause found her when she arrived. Her neck swiveled from right to left. No, no, no, no, no. "Where are you?" she mumbled.

The orator leaned in and whispered, "Miss. Miss. Are you ok?"

"Great." Alice decided this after her steely eyes found the mezzanine. One occupant loomed. She said to the attendees, "Gray was... one in a trillion." She looked at his picture. "Don't worry. I'll make it right."

The service concluded soon thereafter. The casket went to the hurst and people went to their cars. Alice lingered, telling Hannah, "You go on ahead, ok? Trust me. There's something I need to do. Wait for me in the car, ok?"

"We really should head over," Hannah insisted. "The snow's really coming down."

"I'll be quick. Go on."

"O-Ok."

"Thanks. Oh, and Hannah. Don't come back for me. No matter what."

"Sure?"

"Swear it," Alice now insisted.

"I swear it."

Alice smiled and climbed the stairs alone.

Each step dried the air more and more. Her instincts repressed the urge to transpose. That was far too predictable. No, it would catch Him by greater surprise if she moved like the living. At the back of her mind, there was also the desire to walk the path he did. Gray. That time they met here he climbed those very same steps. She imagined him doing so and that bequeathed her the resolve she needed to see this through.

The prowl ended when light pounced on her body and killed the shadows. The entire mezzanine took on the gloomy, silvery glow of winter. Alice found Him still seated in the pew, hand to His face. From this vantage point, she was unable to see why. When she crept closer, that's when she gasped.

He noticed her. "Thought everybody left," M.M. said. His voice was so nasally. The hand pinned to his face held a napkin. "You can call off the ambulance. Just a nosebleed. Happens every time. Churches are always so stuffy. But I came prepared. You'd think with all the booty they rake in they'd invest in some humidifiers. I mean, come on people. We have to impress our Lord!"

Our Lord? A nosebleed? How was this possible?

"You can't be—"

M.M. craned his neck back one final time. He stretched his palate and said, "How's it look?" A bit pinkish around the nostrils. But genuine enough to make Alice cancel her theory. Turns out he wasn't Him. "Snow's starting to come down. Better get a move on. I'll drive you."

"Ok," she said. A text message to Hannah said for them to meet at the cemetery. Alice could see Mister Shu's car from the front seat of M.M.'s beast. She had never ridden in a car so low. The tires followed this brigade for about half a mile, then everyone turned left through a pair of giant iron gates.

The roads of this small city were winding and covered with naked trees. The car stopped behind the other parked cars. Alice got out. She rounded the trunk and heard M.M call out to her. "You enjoy."

"You're not coming?"

"Left my sled at home. That and I started Gossip Girl. The original. Blair and Dan are going to hookup. I just know it." That unexpected confession made Alice snicker, which was his single goal. M.M. became serious. "What are you going to do? After, I mean. With a chest like that, you must be an upperclassman. Any ideas for college?"

"Gray thought I'd like to go to college overseas. He never said why."

"And you never asked why?"

Her head shook.

"Well, if you ask me," he said, "London's where you want to be."

"London? Why?" Alice said.

He pointed up. "The sky." She followed his finger. "Always gray out there." He pulled off.

"It sure is," Alice muttered.

Everything was ready at the gravesite. The arrangements involved the creation of a pine scaffold, for the casket to lay on. White gloves disturbed crimson-red roses. You had a choice: leave it on the lid or take it with you. Most left theirs, a bountiful bouquet. Then, they headed toward the cars. Alice added hers, but she wasn't going anywhere. Not yet.

Not even when Hannah suggested they should. The snowflakes were getting larger and the wind was more violent. She brought this to Alice's attention, saying, "It's really coming down. Ready to go?"

"You go, Hannah. I can get home on my own. On the train."

"You want some time with him."

Alice nodded.

"Ok, then," Hannah said. "But just know you're staying at my house tonight. I already talked to my parents and it's a done deal. I'll leave the porch light on for you, ok? I'll be waiting for you, Alice. Always." Hannah stroked Alice's snowy wool sleeve, then got into Mister Shu's car and left.

So, you see, this was how it happened. How Alice ended up in front of the casket and this chunk of stone, marked with his name and two dates. In the middle was a dash. His dash. Alice felt such a heaviness in her chest as she stared at it. She thought they'd have more time.

I THINK ALICE COULD USE A VOTE! WHAT DO YOU THINK??

MORE TOMORROW!!