I took my pillow and quietly tiptoed through the maze of bodies, trying to avoid stepping on anyone. When I finally made it safely to my bedroom, I pressed the pillow to my face and breathed in the sweet lingering scent. Even his smell brought a smile to my face. I placed it back on my bed and then headed over to the window, and pulled back the curtain.
It was the most beautiful day outside. The sun was shining, the sky was clear, and gentle breezes rustled the fresh new leaves on the trees.
As much as I wanted to see the beauty in everything around me, I couldn’t. No today. My head was shrouded in a dark cloud of sadness, and every cell within me was filled with gloom and pain.
Today was the day we were going to bury my parents.
This day was supposed to be part of a closure in my life that I wasn’t ready or prepared for. My parents were my world. They instilled every good thing they possessed into me, and in an instant, they were gone. And I was never given chance to say goodbye.
There were no last loving words, no last hugs, and no last kisses. One moment they were sitting in the front seat of the car, laughing and singing along with the radio, and the next, their lifeless bodies were being crated to Alaska.
The day they were taken from me proved how very fragile and unpredictable life really was. I thought I was headed one way, only to have it tumble out of control, and then land in the completely opposite direction. My head had still not settled. Deep inside I wished to see my parents walk through the front door, take me by the hand, and lead me home to live out the rest of our happy, normal life.
But life was sometimes unkind, and didn’t give second chances. Instead it gave you two choices. You could either curl up and die, or get up and try again.
Getting up takes huge amounts of effort. It means bearing down and pushing through the toughest of times, even if you have to create barriers around your heart, and grow an extra layer of skin. But it also gives you a strength you probably never knew you’d possessed. An ember begins to glow. The glow eventually sparks, breathing new flame, which fuels a hope and desire to live.
These were the things my parents taught me. Things I didn’t care about, or ever gave a second thought about – not until I had to live it.
Within myself, I had made the decision to get up. But I was still trying to regain my balance. I could feel that tiny ember smoldering inside of me, but I knew if there was any hope of it sparking, it would come from the strength they instilled in me. They would never die. They would forever live on in my heart, my actions, and what I would someday pass on to my own children.
My best friends slept most of the day away, and when they woke, the atmosphere remained somber. Everyone seemed down today. We ate lunch, and then got ready.
It was late afternoon when we all made our way down a cobbled path leading to the cemetery. A violin started playing a beautiful song as we all gathered.
We were now outside of the protected barrier, so everyone except Alaine, Samuel, Kade, and my four mortal friends were out there watching, guarding, and protecting the area, making sure we were safe.
I had to explain Samuel’s presence to Jeremy and Lia, since they hadn’t seen him before. I told them he was Alaine’s new love, and they immediately bought it. They were perfect together.
We stood in a small, open area. An intricate stone wall separated the cemetery from the outside. It was quiet and peaceful. The grass was soft and well-manicured. Outside of the wall towered spruce and birch trees which swayed back and forth to the peaceful sounds of the wind and violin. Bright multicolored tulips and wildflowers were beginning to bloom all around us.
Aside from all of this, you couldn’t help but notice the two large holes excavated to hold the exquisite coffins.
On each of their coffins, Alaine placed a picture; a self-portrait of each of them.
My dad looked so handsome dressed in a black business suit and lavender tie. His hair was combed back, and his blue eyes sparkled just as brightly as his smile. He had the best smile, and the best laugh. Whenever he laughed, everyone around him followed, because he was that infectious.
The picture of my mother was taken at the beach. She was sitting on her chair. Her sun-kissed hair was pulled back from her perfect, porcelain face. Her lips and cheeks were a soft pink, and her eyes were big and bright green. Her face was beaming with love and laughter. This is how I remembered her best. She was the epitome of joy.
God, I missed them.
My eyes began to well up with hot tears and every cell in my body ached. They were so full of life, and had so much more to give. But they were murdered. Stolen away from me much too soon, and it wasn’t fair.
“Are you okay?” Lia whispered, taking hold of my hand.
I nodded, trying to hold back the unavoidable tears, but they finally spilled over and rushed down my cheeks. I quickly wiped my face and turned to gather myself.
This is when I noticed two gravestones off to the left. One was Alaine’s late husband, and the other was Courtney and Caleb’s mother. Caleb had just walked Courtney over to their mother’s stone, each of them carrying freshly-cut, red roses. I watched as Caleb knelt, and dusted away a few leaves which had fallen around on her plot. He then gently placed his roses down.
Courtney leaned over and hugged her mother’s stone, whispering something so silent, only she and her mother could hear. My heart ached and empathized with them. I watched Courtney wipe the tears falling from her red eyes. She finally knelt and placed her roses down next to Caleb’s. He wrapped his arm around his sister, and they stood in silence, remembering.
Lia and Jeremy stood to the right of me, and Samuel and Alaine to the left. Kade came and stood directly behind me. I was glad he was there. He always had my back, and today I would need him there more than ever.
Alaine called a local minister to perform the ceremony. When he arrived, he took his spot at the front, and everyone went silent. He was a stout man, with wispy gray hair, greased and flattened to his scalp. He wore a black robe, and carried an aged Bible in his hand, with colored notecards sticking out from various pages.
The violinist changed songs and played softly as the minister opened his Bible and began the ceremony. His words offered faith, hope, and an assurance that my parents were in heaven, and that one day we would meet them again. I wished and hoped, with my entire being, that he was correct because his words offered me something I could hold onto. A life after death.
My body felt completely numb, and I wished my mind would be too. The ceremony was a blur and before I knew it, it was almost over. The minister asked if I wanted to say something about my parents, but the thought of speaking about them sent a tidal wave of emotion crashing through me which was almost unbearable. Alaine grasped my hand, and assured me it was okay.
Jeremy and Lia cried through the entire ceremony, but I tried my best to hold on. I tried to remember the wonderful and happy times we shared. I tried to be strong because I knew they didn’t want us to shed tears for them, but rather celebrate their life instead of death. They would want us to be filled with comfort, not grief.
As their caskets were being lowered into the ground, reality hit me like a brick. This was final. My parents were dead. Their lifeless bodies shrouded behind those beautiful boxes, about to be placed in the earth for all eternity.
Lia suddenly turned to Jeremy and buried her face into his shoulder, sobbing. He wrapped his arm around her as tears streamed down his own face.
Samuel held Alaine tightly in his arms, and I heard her soft cries.
I tried to be strong, but the veil of sorrow was wrapped too tightly around me. Blinded by despair, I ran forward to my mother’s casket and threw myself over it. At that very moment, whatever was left of my broken heart, shattered into a million pieces.
I wept until my body was too weak to move, and then dropped to the cold ground between them.
This wasn’t a dream. This was my nightmare.
Strong, protective arms suddenly wrapped around m
e, holding me tight.
Kade was always there to pick me up when I needed him most. He knew I was broken, and he came to hold me together. I turned toward him, and wrapped my arms around his neck, and cried. He sat on the ground with me, rocking, comforting, and cradling me in his arms.
“It will be alright,” he whispered over and over again, never loosening his embrace. “Everything will be alright.”
I knew I would eventually get through this, especially with him by my side.
He pressed his lips to my forehead and wiped my tears. “I’ll always be here for you, Emma.”
“I know you will,” I sobbed.
“Please don’t give up on me. On us,” he whispered.
“I won’t.” I promised.
That was the second time he spoke those words, almost pleading for me not to give up on him. I wondered if he thought Ethon was more appealing because he was immortal and had wings. Although appealing, they weren’t more appealing than what Kade had proven. His love and loyalty surpassed wings and speed.
Noticing I was pulling out of my unglued state of sadness, Lia and Jeremy slowly made their way over. Kade helped me up, and as soon as I stood, Lia and Jeremy wrapped their arms around me. In our huddle we all cried again. They knew my parents and spent a lot of time at our home. My parents loved them, and treated them like part of our family.
After we cried it out, I finally made my way over to Samuel and Alaine.
“Thank you so much for doing this. It was a beautiful ceremony, and I know my parents are happy to be resting here. There couldn’t have been a more beautiful place.”
“It was my pleasure, sweetheart,” Alaine said, hugging me. “Victoria was my only sister. I loved her and Christian. We left our most precious treasure in their hands. That’s how much we trusted and respected them. They deserved so much more.”
Samuel and Alaine hugged me, and we stayed and watched as the last pieces of dirt covered the graves. Even though it felt like the walls were tumbling down around me, I would keep climbing because that’s what they would have wanted.
Alaine covered the plots with the biggest, most beautiful bouquets of flowers. In between the graves she set a large carving of an Angel, much like the ones in the ballroom. He was beautiful, about eight feet tall. His face was solemn, his wings spread out behind his back, and his arms outstretched over each of my parent’s graves. A perfect Guardian Angel, who would be watching over them in their eternal sleep.
I was glad to have my best friends here with me.
The three of us sat in the cemetery and talked and about the many memories we shared with my parents. Kade stood near the exit, waiting and watching, giving us our moment. When the sun finally started to set, and it felt right to leave, I said my final good-bye.
As we left the gate, Ethon was standing there, holding three red roses in his hand, which were almost the same color as his eyes.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Emma,” he said stepping forward, offering them to me. “The opened roses are for your parents, and the one that’s still closed, is for you. With the love and support around you, it’s just a matter of time before you bloom.”
“Thank you,” I said, holding them in my grasp. “They’re beautiful.”
“You’re welcome,” he answered. He glanced behind me and his eyes locked onto Kade. His eyes were blank, as he turned to leave.
“That’s really sweet of you, Ethon,” Lia said. His head twisted, he gave her a slight smile, and then walked away.
Lia wrapped her arm around me and led me toward the house.
Miss Lily made an amazing buffet dinner with many different types of yummy food, but I barely ate. My insides were still too sore.
After dinner, we went upstairs. When I opened the door to my room, Lia grabbed my arm.
“I’ll be right back. I have something for you, but I left it in my room.”
“Alright,” I answered. Jeremy and I entered my room, and he plopped on my bed and dropped backward.
“Tomorrow is our last day here, can you believe it?” He asked. “It seems like we just got here. The days just flew by.”
“I know. Way too fast,” I sighed
“Well, we have to do something fun,” he said.
My stomach twisted wondering what he could have wanted to do. “Yes, definitely,” I said. “We will have to make tomorrow the best day ever.” And it would have to be safe.
A wide grin formed on his face.
Lia knocked and entered. She walked over and handed me large, flat box. I pulled one of the sides open and pulled out a scrapbook.
“Wow, how did you get this?” I asked.
“I asked Alaine if she could pick one up for me, and I would pay her back. Of course she refused to take my money, but I thought it would be nice for you to have. You know, to put your memories in.”
“Thank you, Lia,” I said, wrapping my arms around her neck. She hugged me back.
I went to my closet and pulled out the box filled with hundreds of pictures. That night, the three of us sat and sorted through all of them.
My mom had written the date, my age, and the location of each picture.
I carefully traced my finger over her handwriting. She was so detailed and it made me smile. If I could be half the woman she was, I’d be happy.
Chapter 19
This was the very last day I had with Jeremy and Lia, and I didn’t want it to end with sadness. So, I pulled myself out of bed and decided there would be no more tears or glum faces.
None of them had a clue of what they wanted to do, so I thought I’d go and ask Alaine for suggestions. When I came down the stairs, she was on her way to her study, and waved me to follow her. It must have been something good, because she had a large smile on her face.
In her study she snapped the door shut behind us.
“Hey sweetheart, how are you doing today?” She asked.
“I’m great today. I’ve decided there will be no more tears while they are here.”
She smiled at me and shook her head. “You are amazingly strong.” She leaned forward and gave me a hug. “So, before I tell you my surprise, did you want to ask me something?”
“Yes, since today is their last day, I was wondering what we could do to make it memorable.”
Her smile widened. “I thought it would be fun to have a going-away party for your friends in the ballroom tonight. I’ve already hired a DJ, and a decorator. I know its last minute, so we didn’t have many options. I just told them to make it black and white.”
“Oh, that’s awesome,” I squeaked. “This is going to be amazing, and black and white is pretty befitting.” My life had once been clear-cut, black and white, but now, the colors had starting to bleed together into an ugly gray. That gray seemed to follow me everywhere. I just had to remember to keep finding the silver lining.
“Yes, and black and white coordinate with any color,” she smiled.
“Do you think we could make it a Masquerade party? I’ve always wanted to go to one, but never had the chance,” I asked, knowing it was a far-fetched idea, given the time.
“Yes, we can. I actually had a Masquerade Ball here last year, and still have a box full of masks stored somewhere in the attic. I also have a bunch of extra Victorian gowns from a theater company which shut down a few years back. They are also in storage. I’ll have James go and pull them out for me. There should be something in the box for you, Courtney, and Lia, but I’m afraid I don’t have anything for Jeremy.”
“Oh, that’s okay. Jeremy won’t wear anything but shorts and a button up shirt anyway. Thank you so much,” I said, hugging her tightly. I was just about to leave, and then paused and turned back to her. “I also wanted to let you know I really can’t thank you enough for all you’ve done for me. I could never imagine how hard it must have been for you to give me up, but I really had a wonderful life. And it was because you allowed me to.”
“Oh, Emma,” she said, stepping forward and cupping my face in her h
ands. “You don’t know how much those words mean to me. Your safety was, and will always be, my main priority. I just hope I can offer you just as much happiness as they did.” She leaned forward and kissed my cheek.
“Maybe, once this war is over and Lucian is gone,” I said.
“Yes,” she breathed. “We all hope it will end soon.”
I hugged her and left. Running back up the stairs, I couldn’t wait to tell Jeremy and Lia about the Masquerade Ball. As soon as it left my mouth, Lia grabbed me and swung me around in a circle, squealing. Jeremy wasn’t too thrilled about it, until I told him he could wear whatever he wanted.
Then we went and made the announcement to Courtney and Caleb, who were thrilled that they would finally get to attend a party in the ballroom.
At least it kept us in the house, and kept them busy and excited.
James eventually pulled out the gowns from storage, but they were too musty smelling and badly wrinkled. Thankfully, Courtney had a back-up plan. Because she and Lia were almost the same size, she dragged her into her closet to look for dresses. Courtney had a whole row of beautiful dresses, which were perfect for a masquerade ball.
Just as I wondered what I was going to wear, there was a soft rapping on the door. When I opened it, James was standing there.
“Hello, Emma. I’m so sorry to bother you,” he said, talking in a quieted voice.
“Hi James,” I returned. “It’s really nice to see you again.”
“It’s nice to see you as well,” he smiled warmly.
“Please, come in,” I said, stepping to the side.
He took one step inside the door and then handed me a long, black garment bag. The last time I’d seen one like this, it carried the magical super suit.
“Alaine, asked me to bring this to you. She said it’s something for you to wear to the Ball tonight.”
“Really?” I bubbled. Excitedly, I took it from his hands, my stomach twisting with anticipation.
“She said if you’d like something else, just let her know.”