Morrijack Short Stories

Roses

Morrigan sat with her love on a grassy field at the top of a cliff by the sea, surrounded by many other people – families, couples, friends, all of different ages. She smiled, feeling the fresh sea breeze whip around her as she twirled the black rose between her fingertips, ready to give it to Jack in return for all the roses he's given to her over the course of their relationship.

She remembered the first time he'd given her one on the night of her seventeenth birthday, nearly a year since they'd started dating.

"You're amazing, don't ever forget that," he had said, pressing a kiss to her forehead as she held the rose, biting her lip at the sweet gesture.

She'd been struggling with some more hate about being a Wundersmith, but suddenly, none of it mattered. Jack was here, and he always would be.

The second time he'd presented her with a rose was the Valentine's Day a few months after her birthday.

Morrigan opened her door to find a letter with a single red rose laying atop of it.

"Meet me on the rooftop.

~ Jack."

Short but sweet.

She instantly ran up to the rooftop, launching herself onto her boyfriend as soon as she saw him. They spent the rest of the day up there together, before taking a walk after the sun had dipped down. It wasn't exactly special, considering that was how they usually spent their days, but Morrigan considers anything to do with Jack as special.

The next time that really stood out was the day he had proposed to her.

They had been sitting on the edge of a cliff, hand-in-hand, watching the sun dip down over the water, making it shimmer orange and pink in its warm light. Morrigan didn't know what Jack's plan for the rest of the evening was, but she didn't care – she trusted him. But when he turned to her and confessed just how much he loved her, in more detail than he ever had before, she knew that night was going to be special, and when he pulled out a ring and spoke those words, "Be mine forever and marry me?", she knew she hadn't been wrong. And she knew that she was in for the best future a woman could wish for.

Of course, there had been many times between these all, but the last time he had given her a rose had truly stuck with her, and it always would.

"Jack..."

"Shhh, it's okay."

"No! It's not!"

How could he say that? That everything was okay? It clearly wasn't.

Seventy-five-year-old Morrigan was sitting on a chair, in a hospital, by her dying husband's bed. How was any of this 'okay'?

She could feel the tears rolling down her face as he reached a frail, wrinkled hand up to cup her cheek and wipe it away. She looked down at him, his body looking old and fatigued from many years of a life well-spent. They both knew his time was up.

Morrigan grasped his hand that was on her cheek, pulling it over her heart, and willing her voice to work.

"I love you," she managed out, clearly despite the tears threatening to choke her.

"I know you do. And I love you too, thank you for making life full of mystery and adventure."

She nodded, feeling more tears slide down her face as she watched Jack smile at her, his own eyes glassy.

She looked down for a minute, the sight of him like this breaking her, before looking up, deciding that she would not miss her last moments with the man she loves more than anything else in the world.

When she did, she found that he was holding out a white rose to her, his old smirk ghosting his lips.

She took it, shaking her head fondly, "you're such a sap."

He grinned, "you love me for it."

She half laughed, half sobbed, "I do, I really do."

She spent the rest of the day there, holding his hand and kissing him until he took his final, ragged breath.

Which brings Morrigan to today. Twirling the black rose in her hands around one last time, she lay it in front of Jack's tombstone, surrounded by all the others on the top of that cliff, overlooking the sea.

"I'll see you soon, my love."

.

.

.

Written: 14 July, 2021

Published: 21 August, 2021

Soooo, I wrote this shortly after "The Breakup" minific but didn't want to give you guys to lose too many tears straight up. I mean, this is a different type of sad to the previous stories - this is the short bittersweet tale of a relationship that lasted a lifetime. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! :D