Would you DIE for him?{Watty Awards 2012}

The Funeral

I slowly slipped the black dress on. The silk fabric felt soft and comforting against my skin. I held back the tears that had been falling for the past four days. I hiccuped silently, and sniffled. I slipped on the low sling backed heels, and looked over myself in the mirror. I was pale, and there were dark circles under my eyes. My clumsy attempt at hiding my depression with makeup had not succeeded. The dark circles under my eyes seemed permanent, as if a reminder that this loss would scar me forever. I also noted how I was shaking so very slightly. The past few days had been hard. In fact, possibly the hardest I had ever had to endure. I’d been home from the hospital for a couple days, and had stayed at home. In bed, for three days, doing absolutely nothing. It was pitiful, but true;I was overwhelmed by grief. Today, I would say my last words to my best friend. “Honey! Time to go!”, my mom called gently from downstairs. She always understood how I felt, she knew me so well. “Coming.”, I called quietly, taking one last glance in the mirror, and grabbing a black chain purse from off my bed-post.

We arrived at the church a bit early. In the lobby, friends and family were milling around giving condolences to Sam’s parents and relatives. I peeked inside the main cathedral and saw something I never wanted to see in my life. I slowly walked down the carpeted isle, making no sound, but feeling the soft rug underneath my feet. I approached the alter, where a mahogany case lay, open. I approached it slowly, breathing in and out, trying to steady my breath. I finally gathered all my courage and peered inside. It was not gory, nor scary. Sam lay peacefully in the casket, as if he was sleeping. Makeup had covered all the terrible scratches and bruises. I looked into his face, remembering the memories…

Flashback

I saw Sam slide down the green slide in our neighborhood park. He screamed as I jumped on top of him and we both landed on the gravel, dust flying around us. I coughed, and he pushed me gently off him. “Let’s go to the swings!”, he exclaimed, adventure flashing in his eyes. I agreed and we raced to the swings, sprinting as fast as our short legs could carry us. I swung as high as I could, wishing there was no limit. I felt like there was not a worry in the world, and nothing could bring me down. I wobbled out onto the ice. My scarf tied tightly around my neck, my nose as red as a cherry from the freezing temperatures. Sam and Helena were in this memory. Helena was wrapped in a puffy pink coat and wobbled onto the ice as well. Sam came bounding out of one of the snow piles, and squealed, “Look at MEEEE!!!”. He jumped onto the ice, skittered about, then fell onto his butt. Helena and I resolved into a fit of giggles, and both ended up on our butts as well. After playing around on the ice for a bit, we returned to my house. We threw off our damp scarfs and headed upstairs to change. Once we were finished, we all returned back downstairs. We all curled up in the living room, watching our favorite cartoons, and big mugs of hot chocolate warming our hands. These memories I would hold dear forever.

Present

I stared back at Sam’s lifeless face. People had started to trickle into the main cathedral. I was about to resolve into tears, so I hurried to the bathroom to avoid the sad looks of sympathy. I raced to the bathroom just in time, as I resolved into tears, bawling and crying my eyes out, when I see the haunting figure, step out of one of the stalls.