Remember Me

6

The graveyard was silent, save for the occasional rustle of leaves stirred by the cool breeze.

Moonlight bathed the headstones in a ghostly glow, casting long, eerie shadows across the ground.

It was a place of mourning, a place of reflection, and, for me, a place of solace. I wandered between the rows, my mind a whirlpool of thoughts and emotions, the weight of my darkness pressing heavily upon me.

As I walked, I spotted a figure in the distance, sitting on the grass in front of the angelic headstone. Her silhouette was familiar, and as I approached, I knew it was Seren.

She was hunched over, her dark curls falling like a curtain around her face. She wore a dark, larger than needed, hoodie over a small white skirt that was stained with green juices from the wet grass.

"Hey," I said softly, not wanting to startle her.

She looked up, her eyes bleary and bloodshot. The smell of alcohol hung around her, sharp and bitter.

"Hey," she replied, her voice thick and slurred.

I settled down beside her, the damp grass cool beneath me. For a moment, we sat in silence, the shared quiet a comfort in itself. The headstone before us bore the name of her mother, a constant reminder of the pain she carried.

"I come here a lot," Seren mumbled, her words almost incoherent. It was as if she was answering a question that I hadn't asked, yet she knew I was wondering. "It's the only place I feel close to her."

I nodded, understanding, yet knowing my own reasons for being here couldn't be any more different. "I get it. Sometimes the only place that feels real is somewhere like this."

She turned to look at me, her eyes unfocused. "Why are you here tonight?"

I sighed, running a hand over the dark hoodie that was covering my hair. "Just needed to get away. Clear my head."

"Rough day?" she asked, her tone detached, as if she was barely present.

"Rough life," I replied with a bitter chuckle. "But yeah, today was especially bad. I was thinking about... everything."

Seren took a swig from a nearly empty bottle, her gaze distant. "Everything sucks," she muttered.

We fell into another silence, the air between us heavy, yet paralyzing comfortable. I wanted to tell her everything that had happened in my mind since the last time I saw her, but the words felt trapped, locked away by fear and, perhaps a knowing that speaking my plans made them more plans than just morbid make belief.

"There's someone," I began hesitantly and out of nowhere, "someone who's always been there for me. My best friend."

Seren turned to me, her eyes glazed over. "Yeah? So what?"

I took a deep breath, gathering my thoughts. "He's... well, he's everything I'm not. Strong, confident, always seems to have it together. He's the kind of person everyone looks up to, you know?"

She nodded absently, her attention drifting back to the bottle in her hand. I could tell that she was further lost in her own thoughts than in my words.

"We've known each other since we were kids," I said, a small smile tugging at my lips. "He's always been there, through everything. Every fight, every rough patch, every moment of doubt."

Seren glanced at me, her expression vacant. "Sounds nice," she mumbled.

"He is," I agreed. "But sometimes... sometimes it's hard. He doesn't really understand what it's like. The darkness, the weight. He tries, he really does, but it's like there's this gap between us that he can't bridge. And I don't want him to. But he will never stop trying."