It was a sunny day, anyone could have said it was beautiful, except for the people standing around the brown coffin. You could hear people sobbing and then someone crying.
It had been an unfair death.
To her parents. Why did they have to bury their 24 years old daughter? That's not how it's supposed to be.
To her friends. Why did someone their age had to die? she was still young and had so much to give.
And to her boyfriend... the guy who hadn't shed one tear, but was unable to even say a word as well... Why did the woman he loved had to die? Why did she had to die that way?
He was the last to see her that day, at evening. He had a graduation to go at night and she was going with him. They went to the movies and then for a coffee at Ameli's Cabin, a beautiful coffee shop in the middle of the city, decorated with vintage furniture and antique pictures.
He wanted to be the whole day with her, go to their place to get ready and then head off to the graduation, but she said she had something to do, and she was meeting him later at the reception.
They said goodbye with a kiss. And then, with trembling lips she said
"Evan... you know I would never hurt you right?". He chuckled, although he knew she was always serious he found himself surprised by the question.
"I mean, I believe in honesty, but sometimes the truth can cause severe pain... wouldn't it be better to just forget that something happened and move on?".
Evan smiled, what kind of pain could the woman he loved so much cause? and he replied
"Even if you cause me pain, I will never move from your side".
She stared at him, but then, slowly, her lips turned into a smile. Then he winked and added
"But it would be so much better if you didn't hurt me at all ok?", and they both laughed.
She gave him a last small kiss and said goodbye.
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The last time he saw her. He didn't want to forget any detail about that day, but then again, he couldn't forget any detail. He had to explain that story about 10 times to the officers, and then, in that cold and gray interrogation room.
After some research, his aliby had been confirmed, he had effectively been at the graduation at the time her life had been taken away. At 10:27 p.m, on the night of August 8, Margaret Parker, was killed after receiving multiple stabs. She had been killed on a dark street, the same street where she was found the next morning, her flowered skirt and white dress were drenched in blood, and her eyes were open, unfocused and dull.
Evan had wondered that whole night why Maggie had stood him up, did it had to do with that thing she had said earlier. Did not going to the graduation was her way of hurting him? It wasn't until the next morning when he found out the news when everything made sense. He was sure he had heard it, he was sure he had seen her parents and friends crying. He was also sure he had seen her inside the coffin, the coffin which later was buried. But still, he wasn't sure she had died, because to him, she felt so alive.
But then again, she had left him alone. Alone in the apartment they both owned. Alone at Ameli's Cabin coffee shop. And he couldn't take it, he rented a smaller apartment, old and dark. He quit his job, the job in which he was getting a promotion in a few weeks, that promotion he had longed for years, and he had said, when he achieved it, he was going to propose to Maggie. But now all of it was gone. Maggie left, but took with her all of Evan's life.
