11
I sat on the blank tombstone, looking down at him just as he had looked down at me in his final moments.
“Joanne, why are you pretending to be sorry?” I whispered.
Joanne’s head snapped up. “Yuri? Is that you?” He stood and scanned the area, searching for me.
It was dark now, making it hard to see.
“Don’t look for me; I’m right here,” I replied lazily.
“Yuri, I’m sorry…” Joanne stumbled over his words, unsure of what to say next.
“I’m tired and don’t have the energy to go into this. I just want to ask you: why do we only learn to cherish things after we’ve lost them? When Chloe left, were you really sad? Or was it more about resentment? After I died, why did you think of me when you were with Chloe? And why did you think of Chloe when you were with me? People like you are destined to be lonely and have nothing.”
“I’m sorry; I know I was wrong,” Joanne said, sounding like a child who had been caught misbehaving.
“It’s too late for apologies now. I’m about to disappear. When the sun rises, I’ll be gone for good.”
I felt it–the moment when I truly let go, that’s when I would leave.
It wasn’t relief that I felt, but a deep recognition of the truth.
“Yuri, I regret it. I really regret it. I shouldn’t have abandoned you; I should have saved you first…” Joanne’s voice cracked with tears.
“It doesn’t matter, Joanne. I’m going to disappear soon, and you’ll never see me again. You didn’t cherish me enough. I’m too tired. Don’t come looking for me after you die. I don’t want to see you.” With that, my consciousness faded completely.
I thought I would vanish from the world, but instead, I found myself in a new grave.
Now, I had a wider range of movement. I could roam around the entire cemetery. I had many friends, and my afterlife was turning out to be
new grave.
πuw, I had a wider range of movement. I could roam around the entire cemetery. I had many friends, and my afterlife was turning out to be pretty good.
