I sit down on the edge of the dirt patch and pull my bag off my back, placing it next to me. I reach over to the rose I placed two days ago and replace it with the new one.
"Hi again, Maggie. Your mum found something yesterday when she was going through boxes you never unpacked after your move."
I open my bag, the zipper getting momentarily caught on the seam of the bag. When I finally get it open, a hot tear makes its way down the bridge of my nose.
"She, uh, found it and gave it to me to keep. She said she knows how much it means to me, but I had to show it to you."
I reach into the bag and pull out a scrappy old soft animal. One of its legs is more brown than grey and one of its eyes is gone.
"I just um," I choke on my words, wiping my sleeve across my face to collect my tears, "I thought Remy would want to see our best friend again." I place the elephant next to the rose and her plaque. "I know he's just as sad as I am." I let out a hollow sob. "He wants to say that he's just glad you aren't sick anymore, that you aren't hurting anymore."
I pick Remy up and hold him against my face, sobbing into his battered plush and I just cry. I cry trying to hide my eyes so that if she is watching, she doesn't have to see this.
"I miss you, Maggie."
Your funeral was held two weeks after your 18th birthday. It was a small service for family and close friends. I did the eulogy and I didn't cry. I didn't cry because you always hated when I cried about your leukemia while you were alive. I didn't cry, even though it was all I wanted to do. I didn't cry when I was talking to you family, I didn't cry when they lowered you into the ground. I didn't cry when I thought about how I would never see you laugh again. I didn't cry the whole way home. As soon as I was in my room and alone, I cried. I cried for days and I'm sorry Maggie because I know this will make you sad, wherever you are, but I don't think I will ever not cry about the death of my best friend named Maggie.
YOU ARE READING
My Best Friend named Maggie
Short StoryI told her my name was Emme and she said that her elephant was called Remy. She said that my name rhymed with her elephant's name. She told me she was called Maggie.
