[edgtf_dropcaps type=”normal” color=”” background_color=””]T[/edgtf_dropcaps]he sound of dirt being dug and shifted.
“I do not do this for all the parents, Harold.”
Inside a grave with a shovel is Tombstone.
“But then, when a child is unfortunate enough to perish before their parents, their parents are more often than not present at the time.”
“They are there to see their child off into the next world. It does not matter the age, Harold, a child is always a child to he and she who brought them into this world.”
“This is the usual circumstance.”
“So, I can see why you’re confused. I can see why you are disheartened and sombre. Deep down inside your soul, you cannot believe she has perished.”
He continues to dig, scooping dirt from within the grave.
“Twice in a week I have found myself down in the dirt with a shovel.”
“This time it is for you, Harold.”
Tombstone hits box after hours of digging, tossing aside the shovel. He looks up at the gravestone that reads Michaela Attano.
“It was I who embalmed your daughter. It was at this Mortuary and on these grounds that I laid your beloved to rest.
“It was I who put your daughter in the ground.”
“It was I who then proceeded to ferry her to her final destination.”
“She asked about you, Harold.”
He takes a deep breath and sits down inside the grave.
“I did not know you back then. I could not answer her questions, but I will always remember her sadness. She spoke of the pain she felt, of the torture, and how she hoped and prayed that you’d come and save her.”
“She wanted to know why you did not.”
“That journey of ours was one of millions that I’ve completed. Despite that, I will never forget how abandoned she felt. I will never forget her wish to see you once more to ask you why.”
He stands, using a crowbar to open the coffin lid. With a mighty snap, he cracks open the lid.
“Here lies your beloved, Harold.”
Inside the coffin there is skeletal remains.
“I’m sorry that I must show you this. I understand it may not be pleasant, but you need to know that she is no longer here. These are remains; remnants of something that once was. You can come here and visit, but you are right, she is not there. She was taken to her final destination; a place that she belongs eternally.”
Tombstone closes the lid.
“And if you wish to see her again, you must also meet your end.”
“I cannot promise you the same destination.”
“In fact, I wholly believe it to be unlikely.”
“But if you wish to explain yourself to your daughter, there is only one way that might happen.”
“Your end.”
“And you should never fear the end, Harold.”
“Because the end is where we meet.”
“I will send you on your way.”