Gone

Chapter X: Long Live Mikayla

Two weeks later.....

"We are here today to not only celebrate, but thank Mikayla Wilcox for her strong bravery for attempting to rescue her beloved husband James who is here with us today," the priest said.

"Would you like to say a few words James?" The priest asked politely.

"I'd be happy to say a few words,"

James then stands up from the seat and walks over to the podium. He then takes the note cards and sets them down.

"Well, I had prepared about an hour speech, but I'm sure you don't want to hear it all, so I'll just summarize it for you,"

"Today marks the end of a relationship between me and my beloved wife. We married back in 2022 when I rescued her from the fishing boat that was floating in the middle of the sea. When I lifted her up from the ladder, it was love at first sight. Seeing that beautiful face sparkle every time she looked at me, made me happy. We had two boys while we were together, both Jack and Mitchell. They don't know this yet, but when I return home to greet them for the first time in almost four months, their mother won't be there aside from me. This is going to be tough for us, as a family. McKenna, she'd always brag on and on about how pretty you were and that she would be jealous of all the new shoes you would buy. Joan, as a mother, she treated you like a normal daughter would. Every time we had a social event, you'd be the second person to call on her invitation list, but now that she isn't here, who will invite you over to our house for afternoon tea, or even an afternoon dip in the pool? Or even to babysit the kids while we are out at dinner?"

"That's all I have to say, thank you,"

Then James bursts into tears and walks back to his seat. Then the priest walks back over to the podium and sets his bible down.

"Those were some kind words James. Anyone else care to put their words in before I end the funeral?" The priest said.

Everyone looked at the priest, all in tears. The girls all had Kleenex handy to wipe away their tears and blow their noses.

"Alright, well I guess that concludes the short funeral. I hope that you all have stored this day deep down in your heart. I'm sure you have James, right?" the priest asked James.

"Yeah, yeah, I got to go to the restroom. Where is it?" James asked.

"It's right up the hill over there. Be careful, that hill can be slippery at times," The priest warned James.

"Alright thanks for the heads up," James said.

Then the priest went back to having his conversation with Joan.

"So Joan, how are you feeling at this time? Any better? Or are you feeling worse?"

"I'm neutral. I can't come to a conclusion. I don't know if I'm happy or sad, you know?"

"I know how you feel dear, but no one is going to get through the loss unless we all cooperate and work together to get through this terrible loss," he said.

Joan started balling her eyes out. She then walked closer to the priest and hugged him.

"Thank you so much for having this conversation, but I must go now. Our flight back to New York leaves tomorrow at 9 am. And we need to be to the Airport at 4 am to check in and go through security," Joan said.

Then Joan walks over to where McKenna and Sasha are sitting and they both have their faces implanted in the palms of their hands.

"C'mon girls, cheer up. Wednesday night we'll be back home in our regular beds and then we'll get to sleep all day,"

Then McKenna and Sasha stood up, wiped the tears from their faces and walked towards the van. McKenna with her face in her hands.

"I just can't believe she's gone. Now who am I going to get coffee with every Saturday morning?" McKenna said.

"You can always get coffee with me if you'd like," Sasha and Joan said, trying to cheer McKenna up.

"You must know, I appreciate the offer, but when me and Mikayla met up for coffee, it was not only a Saturday morning get together, it was something special," McKenna said.

"Then what was so special about it?" Sasha asked diligently.

"It meant that we had a strong friendship. We always did things together, but now? I don't even know what to think. The morning of the meeting before we came on this trip, me and Mikayla were taking a morning walk in Central Park. This whole vacation wouldn't have started if I wouldn't have said 'Great, now all we need is a team of friends or something'," McKenna said.

"Well all that matters now, is that she's watching over us as we speak," Joan said.

The girls, including James, are now in the van buckling up their seatbelts, are all quiet. Nothing but silence lingered throughout the van. You could hear the very faint ticking sound in the engine up at the front of the vehicle.

"Alright everyone, it's our time to shine. We will look back on this day as a lesson learned. Two of our girls died for YOUR freedom James. That's going to haunt you for the rest of your life. No, I'm not mad at you, I'm just upset that you wrote that letter to Mikayla, who happened to be my daughter--,"

"Look, including you girls in the back, I sent that letter because our plane was hijacked by the United States Government and flown to this Island. From there, the Pilots actually turned out to be two guards from the prison. When they landed the plane, they quickly grabbed their pistols from their gun holder and told everyone to get up 'quickly and quietly and in orderly fashion'. So, we all did and look where that got us? I wrote that letter for very specific reasons. Now if you don't like it, then go cry a river somewhere else," James snapped.

"Okay, change of subject. Let's go get something from those bars across the street that I saw yesterday morning. Am I right? I mean, I'm hungry. Aren't you guys?" Sasha asked.

"You've got that right. Now, let's go get some brunch. I'm starved. Haven't eaten anything all morning. How about you guys?" Joan asked.

"I think we deserve a bite or two," Sasha said.

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Then as James get's back out of the car to shut the back doors, a paper comes fluttering out of no where and lands on the ground right in front of James. The paper reads:

Your move James. The game has just begun.

To be continued.......

The End!