Ruin and Revival

Chapter 69: A New Era

ARIKA

The drop below me made my stomach plummet, my hands tightening on the rocky cliffside.

"Axel, when we get up there, I am going to kill you!" I yell furiously at the man above me, his dark brown hair blowing in the wind as he climbs confidently like he had done this a million times.

"Oh stop being a wuss. Don't worry, you aren't going to die. We have ropes." He heaves himself up onto the plateau with ease. I scoff, clenching my teeth. Why did I agree to do this again?

Grip after grip, I gradually reach the top of the steep cliff, the ocean waves crashing ferociously below me, like a mouth waiting to devour me. I curse endlessly under my breath. Do not look down. You cannot look down. Axel's eyes glint in amusement as he watches me, his tall figure a silhouette against the bright, azure sky. My arms tremble incessantly as I pull myself up the final stretch. Axel extends a muscular arm, his smile so lively, his eyes twinkling in the April sun. My previous irritation dissipates as I see that expression on his face, my mind trying to capture it, hoping I could spend the rest of my life waking up to this happiness. I clasp his hand tightly and he yanks me up with incredible speed. He lifts me up, spinning me as the sea breeze whips my hair, both of us laughing in delight. The vast expanse of ocean and forests and life teeming around us, it is far too perfect to forget. I close my eyes, wishing to be in this moment forever.

I follow Axel as he leads me to a small clearing behind a couple of swaying trees, their rustling a comforting noise. My swimsuit coverup blows in the wind, the delicate white lace beautifully embroidered while still letting the tropical print of my swim top peek through. Axel wears a white shirt in front of me, fitting over his well-toned torso nicely. Why did he ask me to wear white?

We pause before a field covered in tombstones littered with flowers. A cemetery.

"In our country, white is the color for mourning." A doleful look rests on Axel's face as he gestures to the graves before us. How strange. In America, it meant purity and innocence, usually a color worn at weddings, not a graveyard.

The first stone I kneel before reads Calvin. The next is Scarlett, then Rhea, then my father, and finally Cole. Axel crouches beside me, bringing me four flowers. The flowers are pristine white roses and normally, I could admire them for hours, but right now, the flowers seem to carry the deaths of the people before me in them, weighing me down until the aching in my chest is almost unbearable. Axel drops a rose on all of them, before kneeling in front of Scarlett's grave, his chin trembling as he shuts his eyes and tilts his head up at the heavens. The sky is clear and welcoming, as if they know that we remember them, that we love them, that in our minds, they are still very much alive. I mimic Axel's movements.

Clarissa, Calvin, Mom, Dad, Little Brother Jasper, Scarlett, Cole, I miss you. I am glad you guys have found a better place, where there is no pain, no misery. Where you can be happy and carefree. I will remain here as long as I can, trying to turn your dreams into a reality. I just wish you got to see it with me.

Tears had started running down my face before I even realize it. They fall like crystal drops into my lap, onto my clenched fists. And I know that these tears are tears of closure, of finally facing all those that I have lost and knowing that I lost them for a reason, that their deaths will not be in vain. Seeing these graves before me had instigated a spark within me, a sense of motivation to change the world. A calloused hand wipes my tears, turning my face toward his own. He gives me a quivering smile, his own eyes misty and far away.

"Tell me what you are thinking." He whispers. I swallow my guilt, my despair and accept the peculiar sense of contentedness that break through the walls of grief. Let their souls finally rest in peace.