Where it ends.

“I had hoped that it would end this way.”

Braxton looked down at the girl lying in his arms. He fought to keep his prickling eyes from shedding tears.

“What do you mean? You cant leave me,” he said.

Atara looked at Braxton and smiled. A single tear ran down her face.

“They say that a happy ending all depends on where you end the story. You've given me all I could ask for. Don't be sad.”

Two more tears fell from Atara's blue eyes.

“Stop,” Braxton said. “You'll be fine. I'll take care of you. You're going to get better.”

A small smile came to Atara's lips.

“No, I won't be,” she said. “I'm dying.”

Braxton shushed her softly. He moved her ever so gently to hug her one last time.

“I love you.”

Atara shed a few more tears. “I know. And that's why it's perfect. I get to leave knowing that you love me and that I'll see you again.”

Braxton lay her down on the stone floor of the broken castle. “I'll miss you. But I'll be there before you know it.”

Atara took his hand in hers. He fingered her wedding ring softly.

“Just don't do anything stupid,” she said.

“You're not going to be here to stop me. Of course I'm going to wind up doing something stupid.”

Atara's breath hitched in her throat. She coughed up blood, and was gone. The tears that Braxton had tried so hard to suppress now slid down his face freely.

He closed her eyes. Her light brown hair splayed out around her creating a halo effect. The gash on her stomach hardly detracted from her beauty.

It was hard for him to breathe. It was hard for him to move. His wife, half his life, was gone.

It was the other half that kept him going.

Two years later a three year old girl placed a single Globe Amaranth on a grave. Tears ran down as she said, “Mommy.”

The tombstone was a simple plaque on the ground.

Atara Gwyneth Williams

Wife, Mother, Friend

1987 �" 2010

Braxton knelt before the grave, the child in his arms.

“It's been two years to the day, and it hasn't gotten any easier. I miss you so much.”

Twenty years later a young woman stood by two tombstones next to each other. This time, she placed Periwinkle on each of the graves.

Next to her stood a man in a dark suit.

“Mom, I don't remember you. You died when I was only a year old. But I know that you loved me and that you did everything that you could for me.

“Dad.”

She paused, tears choking up her throat.

“I know it was hard. I looked so much like Mom that it must have brought tears to your eyes when you looked at me. It must have been so hard for you to keep going with her gone. But you did.

“I wish you could be here. I finally met someone who loves me just as much as you loved Mom. And we're getting married. Next week. I wish you could have met Danton.”

The blue eyed brunette with a tear stained face looked up at her fiancé and smiled weakly.

“They loved you,” he said. “And they'll be there.”

“I know. I just would have like to have seen them one last time.”

Mabli rubbed her fingers across her swollen stomach. She thought of all she had.

Her blessings were innumerable.

Rosemary, she thought. It was perfect. Rosemary for remembrance.

The door opened behind her and Danton walked in.

“What's on your mind?”

Mabli sighed. “I was just thinking about my parents. My dad always said that the happy ending depended on where you stopped the story. He said that my mom wasn't sad when she died because she'd had a fulfilling life. A life full of love.”

Mabli stopped as tears came to her eyes. “I just wish that she could have been there. When I learned to ride a bike. Tying my shoes. My first day of school.”

Danton wrapped his arms around her. “I'm here now. And she's been watching you this whole time. Because she loves you.”

Reviews

[Catey]

What a touching story. It was filled with emotion and description. The dialogue was natural and flowed well. I felt like I could see each of these peoples lives play out infront of me like a movie.

[Aislinn]

Thank you. I do tend to talk out my dialogue to make sure it flows.