Werewolf Forest

Werewolf Forest::Chapter 35

Recap:

“There are some things I need to figure out. Some promises I need to keep. I’ll explain later, I gotta go,” I ran up the stairs and into Andrew’s room. I had a promise to keep to Kyle.

I found his duffle bag in the corner by the window. I zipped it open, finding wrinkled bundles of clothing. I shifted through them, but only found more clothing and a small, worn pocket-bible. But at the very bottom, was a picture frame. I pulled it out of the clusters of fabric that had been stuffed carelessly in the duffle bag. Behind the scratched, clear plastic, there was a small picture of Kyle with his arm around a woman, a small baby in their arms. Another man stood behind them, his arms around their shoulders as he looked lovingly down at the baby. I took the picture out of the frame and read the back.

Mark, Kyle, Sophie, and Anna

June 17, 2007

I could barely see the baby’s face under her blankets and little pink hat. Her little nose and lips just barley stood out. The girl was just barley shorter than Kyle and had long dark-blond hair. Her eyes were a crisp blue and looked down at the baby with love and exhaustion in her eyes.

I had never met Kyle’s family. No one had.  He never really talked about them, even to us, and we accepted that. We all had things to bear, so we never questioned his secrecy. All we knew was his parents lived across the country, and he only got to see them on occasion. I lightly touched the faces of the people, and my heart ached at the sight of Kyle’s grin. I took the picture with me as I walked back to my room.

“Hey, Maggie!” I turned to see Andrew running down the hallway. I stuffed the picture in my back pocket as quickly as I could as he got nearer and wrapped his around me. “Theres still some food downstairs, and Connor doesn’t want it to go to waste. Bailey, Davo, Donnie and Luke are all down there too. Why don’t we join them. Have a little snack before we go to bed?”

“Sure,” I said, quickly kissing his cheek. “I’ll be right down ok? I’m just going to change into a tee shirt.”

“Ok, see ya,” He kissed my forehead and walked toward the stairs. I quickly ran to my room and put the picture under my pillow. I left it there to wait for me as I went downstairs to join my friends. We ate for a while, laughed and talked. As the night lost its youth, we all went to bed. Our wounds were throbbing, our minds heavy as lead, but for the first night in so long, we could sleep in peace.

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 Chapter 35

We had just come from the church, the smell of the incense still stuck in my black clothing. Andrew held my hand as we walked behind the burgundy coffin to the gravesite. It had only been about four days since the battle, I still had my cast on and Andrew still had his stitches in. Tears still filled our eyes at our loss. I could hear the mourners around me whisper prayers and gently sing hymns. They all had their heads bowed in silence, and some clung to loved ones, somehow walking as one entity tangled within its self. This was how Andrew and I walked.

Donnie and Luke trailed along behind us, their black suits pressed to solemn perfection. It was the first time I had seen them in something other than t-shirts and jeans since we had met. They each held a white carnation in their hand, as did many of the people. Andrew held two in his hand, as my hands were busy clutching to him in sorrow. When we got to the gravesite, they prepared to lower the coffin. The preacher said a few words, about how we would all meet Kyle again in Heaven some day, and how God always has a reason for his actions. He said a prayer and we repeated after him as the casket was slowly lowered into the ground. One by one, people threw the white flowers into the pit with him. I watched as each puff of white was swallowed by the grave, sinking into that black hole. Then, for but a second, there was a flash of red in the sea of white. I watched as a woman, clad in a long black dress with her blond hair pulled into a bun, tossed a blood-red rose into the pit. As if sensing I was looking at her, she turned and looked at me with her crisp blue eyes for a moment. I kept watching as she turned from the grave and picked up a small figure dressed in a black dress and stark white tights.