Under the Oaks, Beside the Bayou

Short Epitaph

The Auberts were interred in the church cemetery the next morning. August interments were hasty affairs due to the humid heat, and the official burial rites would have to be done when the priest from New Orleans could obtain passage when the Riverboats ran again.Zen and Yon attended, asking all others to wait until they could be remembered properly. It was a good decision because the boy did not cope well. The reality was breaking through his numb façade and when the real tears came it was hard to bear. Yon ran from the graveyard and disappeared down the path to his old home. Secretly, Zen followed, walking silently and just barely keeping the child in sight. His plunge toward all he had known was primal and all-consuming, and the older man knew how he felt. He needed to den up a while, so Zen kept watch. The boy wandered the site, eyes raking the area as if hoping the nightmare would end and the cabin would be whole again and the people he wanted the most in the world would rush out to greet him. Papa, broad-shouldered and invincible. Maman, holding little Tresor, who coo'd contentedly in her arms. But the wreckage was complete, so Yon fled to the only stability he had had that terrifying night, The tree-house that had sheltered two children from the monster.Zen watched him climb the ladder and disappear. Then cringed as loud cries of mourning filled the treetops. He waited a long time until the cries settled into sobs and the sobs settled into soft, endless weeping. Finally, as the sun reached it's noon peak, he saw a pair of legs dangle for a second, seeking the top rungs and Yon began to climb down. As he reached the ground and spent some time carving something on the tree.Here August 10th, 1856, the Auberts placed their children to shelter from a storm. They gave their lives for their family. RIP Papa and Maman. He sensed Zen approach and when he looked up, he saw tears in the gold eyes as the tall man read the carved memorial. No words were exchanged. Zen offered his hand Yon accepted. They walked back to Grand-mere and Tresor in a calm, comforting silence.