Once Upon A Dream ♡ Frerard

Nine

The funeral was nearly over and Gerard was still no where near during the finishing ceremony. Frank had been anxious when Gerard left, but his mother insisted that he stay by Jamia, resulting in him unwillingly walking over to a still expressionless Jamia who was now grasping a rosary in her hand. It was strange seeing it as she had told Frank once that she had no religion, but he decided not to say anything to her in this fragile state. He listened to crying family members make emotional speeches about Lindsey Ballato in her memory, sharing moments they had shared and things she had said when she was still alive. Frank's tears had long since dried, but at least he had looked like a normal grieving person and no one questioned his tears.

Towards the end of the speeches, Frank felt sick to his stomach and decided to sneak off and walk around to clear his mind. Although graves still flipped his soul inside out, the sights of flowers and personal items laid among the tombstones that paid homage to those who were deceased. Frank walked among them after slipping away from the group of many weeping people. One grave in particular belonged to a mother and child, two who were buried together and who passed away on the same day. The little girl, Mary Jane, was only five years old, and the woman, Violet, was twenty seven. One half of the large grave was covered in pink toys and roses, a small teddy bear placed right at the foot of the memorial. The mother's side had a bed of roses and a series of letter, all signed by the name 'Johnathan.'

Frank, having stolen a rose from the funeral, laid the red flower with its long green stem right in the middle of the grave, honoring both the mother and child as everyone should have than acting like both of them had individual graves. Frank knew nothing of how they had died, who was writing letters to the mother, or who they were, but something tugged at his heart when he saw that both had died on the same day, resting together forever. He stared at the picture of the curly haired woman with her small child, both smiling at the camera. Frank found life was cruel if it had decided that it no longer wanted a perfectly happy pair, even Lindsey Ballato whose time here was not up. The most unfair things happened to the people who deserved it the least, to the innocent people who graced the world with their presence while the bad ones walked the earth until they died a natural death. Frank felt angry, even cheated the more he stared at the grave for the mother and child.

At one point, Frank remembered that there was no point in feeling anger for the passing of these two strangers because they were in fact only strangers, two people who had died together three years ago. Frank took in a breath to calm himself and turned around to see something else, something that would not make him feel angry. And just as his mind had that motive, he caught sight of a dark haired person a few tombs away, sitting in front of a grave and toying with a red tie in his hand.

Slowly, Frank approached Gerard. His footsteps were unsure, but his body was being drawn to him by gravity. The boy seemed to be silently weeping, crystal tears glinting on his pale cheeks with one slipping down towards his lips. He was humming, something that Frank recognized as Hallelujah, only in a soft voice that reminded Frank of the time he had first seen Gerard in his dreams. He had looked just like this, crying and singing to himself. Since then, Frank learned that singing was an escape route for Gerard, soon becoming one for Frank as well because of how beautiful his best friend's voice was.

Frank sat down next to Gerard, his eyes glued on his love's face and his ears listening to the lovely music coming from Gerard's throat. The song paused as Gerard noticed Frank's presence, his head turning just a fraction towards the other. Then the song changed to something else, a song Frank had not heard before. He listened closely, being enveloped in the sweet music Gerard created with his vocal chords. Another tear slithered down Gerard's cheek as he sang, the wind drying the tear. Frank felt the emotion radiating off of Gerard, the pain and the emptiness inside of his love. Gerard's eyes were glassy, two amber jewels with sadness trapped inside them. Frank followed his friend's gaze and found his own eyes landing on the grave of a woman named Elena, one who had lived a long life and had one single rose laid on her grave. A rose taken from the ones surrounding Lindsey's coffin.