Amber Eyes

21

I sighed and looked out the window at the sky.

"Did you pick a star for her? And for Allison?", I asked curiously.

"A star?", he asked, puzzled.

"Yes a star. That star is where the person watches over you from up there."

"Lucy used to say that, too. She said her sister was sitting on a star.", he smiled weakly.

I enjoyed my time with him. He often was a, and I quote my father "cold piece of shit" but he just had a hard time with emotions.

We arrived in a forest. It was densely populated and featured different types of trees. We drove along a tractor path to a small cottage in the forest. It was a bungalow painted dark green. I immediately noticed the big amount of windows.

3 hours later

We sat outside around a campfire. I was wrapped in several blankets and listened to the crackling.

"River?", I asked.

"Huh?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"You'd ask anyway.", he said with irony in his voice.

"Correct," I sighed. "What was it like when Allison died?"

He looked at me in amazement and shock at the same time. He stuck the stick he'd been poking around in the fire into the embers and looked up at the sky for a moment.

"It felt like the whole world was against us and her death was confirmation of that. I was angry, but I didn't know about who or what. I was probably angry at God and the world.", he told me and sighed.

"How did it happen?"

"I received a call and didn't pick up because I was on a deal. The deal was more important than that call at that moment. When I was done, I looked at the display and called back immediately. They told me that I was to late. They called me to tell me that Allison was dying.... She had been dying all along, but now she had finally decided to go. They called to tell me that she would be gone soon and that I should hurry.", he paused. "I immediately jumped into the car and raced to the hospital. I rushed into her room and saw her lying there. A nurse and the hospital priest were standing by her bed, praying for her. Allison had two strangers around her when she died. And why? Because I couldn't fucking answer my bloody phone. She died without me being able to tell her how much I loved and adored her. I didn't get to say goodbye."

He stared into the blazing fire and wiped away a single tear. He felt a pang of guilt.

"I didn't want anyone to feel love, while I was hurting so badly. I could not make it trough the day without pills.", he sighed. "And that was the second time I saw Lucy. The first time was when I had the patientpower of attorney over Colin and a stupid idea. Lucy didn't let it go, and even after Colin forgot about her , because of a brief amnesia, she fought for him. Then, when he left and faked his death, our story began.", he explained.

I wrapped myself up more in the blankets and nodded, having followed his story closely.

"Which star looks like Allison and Lucy?", I asked him getting back to the star-thing.

He grinned and pointed up at the sky. It was a crystal clear night.

"The small one over the right hilltop for Allison. The star between the two mountain tops for Lucy." he said, smiling gently.

It was an honest smile. My work here was almost done. I knew exactly why I was here, only River had not been initiated. An honest conversation not more, but I didn't want to end it here.

"Will you promise me something?", I asked gently.

"What?" he asked, looking at me intently.

"When I get up there, pick a star for me.", I said with a gentle smile.

There was silence. He looked at me, then at the flames and the sky. After he had been silent for some time, he looked at me again.

"I would be honoured..."