12Epilogue
As the wind blew through the cemetery, it caressed the man standing before a relatively fresh grave. The man, Robert, he was called, shivered in the wind as he wore only a thin shirt and jeans. In his hand he loosely held a single flower. He said nothing, content with staring sadly at the stone marker. He imagined Dani was standing before him, mirroring his somber look as she tried to explain why she killed herself. He could see her mouth moving in explanation, her eyes begging him to understand… but he never would. Dani and her reasons for suicide were forever lost to him.
Robert clamped his eyes shut, breaking the depressing image. He walked parallel to the grave, over to the headstone and kneeled by it. He reached out and traced Dani's name, a bitter smile on his lips.
Danielle Chrissy Hayden
The angel in the shadows
We could not save
May she now live
As free as the wind
Because she could not
In this life
"I loved you, you know." he admitted to the gravestone. "But it wasn't enough for you, was it?" A humorless chuckle passed his lips. "Would you have lived for me if… if I told you?" He brought the flower's petals to his lips, imagining he was kissing Dani. He'd never know what it would have felt like or how she tasted…
He reached into his pocket with his other hand and pulled out a diamond ring. He rotated the ring, watching the sunlight reflect off of the perfectly cut stone. Eventually his fingers grew tired and he set the ring on her marker.
"I wanted to give that to you for your birthday." he said, "I wanted to ask you to be my girlfriend. I wanted…" he trailed off, dropping his gaze from the ring to the flower in his hand. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you, Dani." he whispered brokenly, placing the flower on the grave.
Looking up at the ring and taking it in hand, Robert pulled a chain from his pocket. As he tried to loop the chain through the ring, he noticed his hands were shaking badly. Goose prickles ran up and down his arms and he was sure his shaking wasn't altogether from the wind.
Through the ring wide and chain small, Robert struggled with the two. It wasn't until he took a second to still his shaking that he accomplished the simple task and fastened it around his neck with no further troubles.
"I'll keep this to remind me to act before it's too late." He fingered the ring, standing. His eyes glistened with unshed tears as he struggled to keep his composure. He promised himself not to shed any more tears over Dani, not to linger on the "what ifs", not to obsess over what could not be changed. "I'll miss you." he whispered to the headstone before turning to depart, fists clenched with the effort of holding back tears.
As the wind blew through the now empty cemetery, it turned over the single blossom left behind, the only proof that someone had been there previously.
As mentioned by one reviewer, Girl-in-America, Robert did love Dani. I thought I should address this point since it was brought up. The result is as you see. Thanks for reading!