A Final Goodbye

A red car pulled up to a cemetery. When it was parked, a young boy came out. He looked like he was too young to drive until he got closer. He had dark circles under his deep blue eyes like he hadn’t slept in days. He only wore a gray jacket to cover himself from the snow. His jeans were ripped at the knees like he didn’t even care if he got frost bite; his dirty blonde hair was pushed from his face.

He fell to the ground, before the statue, sobs ripping out of him like a wild animal. His hands pulled on his hair until his knuckles were white. He muttered “No,” and “Why,” and lost control of his body as it started shaking. I wanted to go over to him and hug him and comfort him, but he wouldn’t feel it if I did.
I walked closer to him, but the closer I got, the more he cried. I wanted to comfort him, but since that was not possible, I just sat on the ground next to him. My eyes filled with tears. I can never go back. I can never hug him again, never talk to him again. All because of one man.
He wiped away his tears. The statue he walked up to earlier was of a girl, a girl around his age with curly hair and a soft smile on her face with a hand reaching out. The sculptor gave her angel wings to signify that she was a kind-hearted girl that would surely make it into heaven. Under the statue stood a plaque that rose barely above the ground and stated:
“Nicole Watterson
(December 6, 1996-October 20, 2012)
Died by the hands of her father. Attended Gerald High and just received a letter from Julliard for her singing talent. Was an excellent student and friend. Planted hope in people’s lives wherever she went. She left a mark on everyone that she met and will always be remembered by the people she was stolen from.”
That girl was me, but now all I am is a painful memory that will haunt these people for the rest of their lives.
Gerald was a small town in Idaho that no one knew about. That was the great thing about Gerald. Everyone knew everybody and we were all like a big family. If someone died, everyone in the town attended the funeral, just like they did to mine; I know, since I attended it, too.
My eyes wandered from the plaque to the boy, my boy. For years he was my best friend, until he finally asked me out. And for three years we dated until I was “stolen,” as everyone called it. When I died, I especially watched over him and I realized how much he loved me and me to him.
He rose slowly from the ground, looked at the statue and asked, “Why did you have to leave me, Nicole, why?” As he spoke, a sob escaped from him, but he continued. “At least you could have told me what went on in your house.”
At that, I knew he was mad at me, but he was more sad than angry. I knew he couldn’t hear me, but he probably thought I couldn’t hear him, so I responded, “For one, I didn’t want to talk about it. And secondly, I was scared of my father of what he would do to me; what he would do to you. Please, please try to understand. I loved you, that’s why.”
He didn’t hear me and sobs started to escape from me. My lips were trembling, my whole body shaking.
“Why couldn’t you at least give me some warning that you were in danger?” He said gripping the hand of the statue, screaming, tears ripping from his eyes.
“Because I never thought that he would actually kill me even though he said he would every day. Michael, you’re a strong-willed boy, forget about me and move on,” I said, the words painfully leaving my mouth. There was no way I was going back, and I wanted, no, needed him to go keep going.
“I can’t live without you, you’re my reason of existence, my happiness that I can’t replace, you’re my life. Why, why, why did you leave me?! You had so much more to live and now it’s all gone! How could you let that happen?”
There was no way of responding to that, because it was true that all that I had planned for the future slipped out of my hands in one last breath. But the last sentence he said, I could tell was not directed to me; it was to God.
The only thing that could come out of my mouth was, “Michael, I love you.” So I said that over and over again until his sobs silenced. He gathered himself, kissed the statue’s hand, and said goodbye before he slowly faded away.
“Goodbye.” I said to his back as he left me for the last time.