Forever and Always

Rain and Remembrance

Daryl and Glenn came back a few hours later.
"Hey look what we found,"Glenn shouted as he approached the tent."
Carl wiped his swollen eyes and we walked towards the tent entrance.
Glenn was holding a box.
"What is that?" I asked, hoping that my thoughts were correct.
He smiled,"It's a cake. We found a small ice cream shack. The people that worked there were hiding in the back. They said that even though the apocalypse was going on, they were still going to make cakes and stuff."
Daryl spoke up,"We saved them from a herd of Walkers, so they gave us one of their newer cake."
I looked past them to see if these mysterious ice cream shack owners were with them. They weren't.
"Where are they?"Carl asked, reading my mind.
Glenn shook his head,"We offered them a chance to come with us, but they said that they would rather go down doing something that they loved and with their shop then out in the woods."
Carl and I nodded in unison.
They took off most of their soggy clothes and sat down in front of me and Carl. The cake box was placed in the middle of us.
On the cake were balloons and steamers and a blank spot that was commonly used for cake personalization.
Daryl opened the box and pulled out a small butter knife and small party plates.
He dug the knife into the cake and cut four large pieces and two small slivers.
He passed out the plates and one by one, everybody got a piece.
"This is for all the hard ass things we've gone through lately. This is to celebrate everyone's birthday. Y'all are getting older."Daryl said while looking at me and Carl.
He sighed,"Let's celebrate the healthiness of us and the deaths of our friends and family."
Carl and I both had tears forming in our eyes.
"First, to Lori, who gave birth to and cared for Carl until she was taken away from us. She gave herself up to save her daughter, Judith. She was a mother to all of us, even to those who didn't deserve it."
Carl's tears broke free from his face and I silently gave a thank you to Lori.
I didn't know her, but because of her and the family that she created, I was still alive.
"Next to Rick, who is the father of Carl." Then he added,"And maybe Judith."
Carl had told me about his dad's best friend, Shane, and what had happened between her and Shane.
"He was opinionated and rude and a pain in my ass. But he held us together."
Now everyone was letting their tears through.
I took Daryl's place as he tried to control himself,"And to Maggie and Beth. They gave their lives to save the kids that weren't theirs. They saved Judy and Jacob. For that, I am forever in their debt."
Carl added,"I am too. They saved my last piece of blood and for that, I am grateful."
Glenn spoke next,"And lastly, to Keyanna, Aaliyah, and Denise. When the prison was taken over, they warned us. They sacrificed themselves to save us. Without their warning, none of us would be here. As humans."
We were all sobbing and suddenly Daryl screamed out,"Is there even anyone up there? At all?"
I gave one silent thank you.
Thank you, Mom. Without you, I wouldn't even have made it so far. I love you.
I wiped the tears out of my eyes and turned to the group,"Please stop crying. This is supposed to be happy. We remember all of these great people because they wanted us to be happy. Don't take that away from them."
They listened.
Soon we were all laughing and telling stories about the ones that had passed.
Carl and I sat and fed the babies small pieces of frosting as we listened.
Carl grabbed my hand and we sat in remembrance.