Floyd Charles Van Horn III

Chapter 7: Floyd Charles Van Horn III

"She's visiting my grave!" Alex says, springing off of the cold ground. Alex runs up the hill to Dolly's side.
"Dolly!" Floyd stands up.
"Leave her be," Claude says.
"You're right," He says, sitting back down again.
Floyd wishes he could touch Dolly. He wants to run his fingers through her soft ember hair; hold her warm, and alive hand.
Floyd puts his head in his hands.
"What's keeping me here, Claude? I did nothing in my life. I have no one left. I'm not connected to this living world. I want to see what's beyond. I want to see my family again."
"I don't have any family," Claude says, "my father raised me, and then let me marry at 15. I don't consider him family."
"My parents and siblings- and myself- we're killed in a terrorist attack." Floyd says.
"You never told me that! You told me you were all killed together, but you didn't tell me that part."
"I don't like talking about it. Who would?" Floyd starts to stand up, and Claude stops him.
"Floydy, do you think we would've been friends in the- the- living dimension?"
"I like that word. And yea, Claudey, I bet we would'a got along great."
Floyd tries to sneak a peak at Dolly.
"I wish she would visits my grave again," He says, checking that all his figurines are knocked over.
"Why bother with that Floyd? Why bother with love? She's alive. You need to find out why you're still here and move on."
"I just need to see her one more time." Floyd says.
"Did you ever fall in love while you were alive?" Claude asks.
"No. Never even had a girlfriend."
"Maybe that's why you have this insane idea in your head; you have to find love or something." Claude says.
"It can't be that," Floyd says, defeated. "There's no way I can get a human to fall in love with me. I wasted my life, and now I'm wasting my death."
"Floydy, you just have to move on. And I don't mean like- literally. Well, I do mean literally, but also in this case."
"What?" Floyd says.
"You know what I mean."
"I really don't." Floyd says, laughing.
"Life was so difficult always trying to figure things out, and it's the same with death. Why? Why do we still have to figure stuff out? Why can't it be simple? "That's life, and death, Claudey."