TOO ICY

💎 THIRTY THREE / NO MORE MONSTERS

TWO MONTHS LATER

Yuko stared at the gravesite in front of her. She wasn't good with death, although she was in close proximity to it her entire life. How ironic. Just the month before, she attended the funeral of her baby sister, Hannah. Haya was a wreck, as well as Yuri. Akita was nowhere to be found. And while Sachi was sad, she looked relieved to see Yuko was well and that she had given her a second chance to be a mother. A real mother, not a drug lord.

A month later, there she stood, saying goodbye to Jesenia. Her home girl finally had a grave - a beautiful one that Yuko paid top dollar for. She couldn't have her girl looking raggedy. She knelt down and placed Jesenia's favorite flowers by her side.

"I can't believe it took me this long to get you settled. How selfish of me, huh?" Yuko said, a bit ashamed. She brushed her fingers across the smooth engraving for her name. "You deserved so much, sweet girl. So much more."

Tears fell, mixed with happiness and sadness.

"You were the only one who stood up to Lucky's crazy ass back in the day. Who knew that night would be the start of all of this, huh? All because of that crazy bitch," she laughed. "We should've stayed in bed like I said. But nooo, you didn't want to listen. You were so stubborn, but I guess I can't curse you out from this side."

Yuko stood as a few more tears watered the grave. She took a deep breath. Her hands ran over her growing tummy.

"I'm going to be moving in a few weeks - to Kyoto. That's in Japan. Can you believe that?" she chuckled. "Yeah, me neither. It was actually Jet's idea. You remember Jet - he's that fine ass man we ran into the mall when we were staying in Jersey? Yeah, him."

"I'll come back to visit, don't worry. We just need a fresh start, far away from this crazy place. I'll bring my baby boy to see you. I promise."

She stared at the grave for a bit longer. She didn't want to leave. Not already. Checking the time on her phone, she figured she had a little more time to keke with her friend. Jetson was turning in his notice of resignation, and they were set to meet for lunch right after to go over the last few details of moving.

Yuko plopped a squat on the grass and decided to stay for a little while longer. She missed her best friend.

               💎💎💎

Jetson exhaled deeply when he stepped out of his car and peered at the precinct. If someone told him years ago he would be retiring so early in his career, he would've called them a liar. He wanted to be a detective for as long as he could remember, but over the years, he realized it may not have been for him. He found himself walking a fine line between right and wrong too many times.

And after almost losing his life to a coworker, it was time to take the badge off. Jetson wanted to be there for his son and his future wife. He wanted memories; a collage of photos from staple moments he didn't miss, hanging in their home. The long unpredicted hours had already stolen so much time.

He looked down at the written notice in his hand and proceeded into the building. He headed straight to the Captain's office. It felt strange being inside after so long. Jetson was out on medical leave, and after handing over this letter, he would never have to step inside that building again.

He gave the door two knocks until he heard, "Come in."

"Good morning Captain," greeted Jetson.

"I still can't believe that'll be the last time I'll ever hear that."

Jetson chuckled.
"Yeah, it's surreal, huh?"

Captain looked at the paper in Jetson's hand. "Is that it?"