Tears Thick Enough To Stain

Eight

Matt was still running when he approached the graveyard gates. Despite the fact that it was dusk, he headed straight to that spot under that oak tree where he knew Josh was. He chanted a simple ‘Josh, Josh, Josh’ as he approached it, his heart leaping to his throat when he saw the shiny marble headstone and the freshly turned earth. He sat to the side of the headstone, his fingers tracing the gold lettering slightly. The words he knew well enough, ‘Josh Ramsay, beloved son and brother, gone too soon’ and the dates written below raised the hairs on his arms, and his heart stopped all together when he saw the picture beside it. Somebody, probably Josh’s mom, had propped a silver framed photograph of Josh. It was taken last summer, at a beach party, and had been cropped so it was just Josh, but Matt could see his fingertips curling around Josh’s waist near the edge of the photo. Josh was smiling so hard in that photo and it made the young boy choke a laugh through his tears when he remembered how happy Josh had been that night.

“Oh Josh, I miss you so much. I wish you could come back, I love you and I need you here.”

If there were such things as apparitions and ghosts, Matt really hoped Josh was nearby his grave and was listening to every word Matt said. But the brunette knew this was it. He was gone, and however hard Matt hoped and wished, there was nothing that could bring him back. This was not right. This was no longer his time to laugh and smile and live with his best friend. This was his time to weep and cry and mourn the loss of the boy who meant, means, the world to him.