Bloody Texas

What do you guys think I'm gonna do after high school?

Lance's beautiful voice fluttered through the night air as he pranced around in the glowing water. Keith's oversized black coat was falling off his shoulders as he kicked at the bright, starry blue and laughed his signature angelic tune.

Keith felt a smile appear on his cheeks as he watched in content bliss. As the sea breeze oiled his hair, he took a breath of it and closed his eyes slowly. I'm gonna marry this boy.

When he opened them he looked down at the gravestone before him. The same dreary angel was still holding the limp child in its arms. Even though he hated it, there was no denying that it fit the plot perfectly. Sunlight casted shadows onto the front from behind it as evening approached. Keith slowly lowered his eyes to stare down at the etched words in the marble stone.

Here lies, in everlasting peace, our beautiful baby boy.

Lance McClain
July 28, 1997 — December 25, 2018

Once Keith finished reading it a few times, he gently lowered himself down to sit in front of them. His face had aged dramatically, showcasing all the wear and tear of his old, leathered skin. His eyes had grown crows feet and his fingers had wrinkled. A grey suit complimented his old body as he smoothed it out and locked his fingers together in his lap. With a deep breath, he opened his mouth to speak but ultimately decided against it. Instead, he unlocked his phone and played the video that was already loaded.

Lance takes a deep breath and folds his arm on the desk in front of him. Various pictures of him and Keith are displayed on the walls behind him. As he scratches his arm out of nervousness, he avoids looking at the camera. "Hey Keith." He fights to make nonexistent eye contact but fails. "If you're watching this, then I'm dead."

Lance quickly raises his hands and flashes a worried smile, "But I don't want you to be sad or anything! I just..." His smile falls as does his arms. "I just...want you to know that I love you. I...I know that you're gonna do something great. Even if I'm not there. You were always that kind of person." Lance pulls his feet up onto the desk chair to hug his knees. He looks away from the table longingly. "I know this video is gonna be hard to watch but I need you to listen to me." His eyes finally gain the courage to connect.

"Don't give up. For me if not for anything else." Lance pauses for a moment. "You're worth so much more than you give yourself credit for. It's one of the things I fell in love with. But it also chilled me to the bone." He slowly shook his head. "You can't give up. I love you and I want you to be happy without me so we can be united together again in bliss. Wherever we end up.

"And Keith," Lance swallows a bought of tears. "I hope," his voice begins to shake uncontrollably, "that in our next life, we can be together again. As lovers. As fighters. As we once were."

Lance lifts his head once more and takes another breath. "This is my last wish to you, as your husband. I love you."

Video ends.

Keith lowered his phone back down to his lap and closed his eyes to keep the tears at bay. "I'm just an old man now, Lance." He shrugged. "And you were right. I did something great. Something world-changing. But now...I fear that my time has come."

Keith chuckled a little, "You know, Josh helped me after that day. He got me to see a doctor and I got the help I needed. We fought with our fists and words alike, and he didn't once give up on me. He did something great, too."

Keith smiled down at the cold stone. "He saved me. And I know that means the world to you."

After a long pause, Keith reached into his pocket and took out an index card. He wrote on the blank side then folded it in half. With a strained grunt, he reached forward to place it upon the base of the statue. Then, he fought to stand up and gain his balance. "You know how a dog will wander away from its owner when it's about to die so the human doesn't see the event?" He nodded and looked down at the grass. "I kinda feel like that. I just...know that I'm about to go. Hopefully it's peaceful and in a deep slumber...don't we all."

In one final motion, he lifted his hand to his mouth, kissing the inside of his fingers and placing them on top of the young Lance in the angel's arms. "I love you, baby. I hope we can be together again soon."

As Keith backs up and turns to walk away, he takes one last look at the notecard he left on the gravestone.

"You see, people like to leave their mark on the world. Their souls yearn to be remembered in some way—even if it's by the word 'cunt' spray-painted in the window of an abandoned gas station."

Keith died that night. He was eighty-three. It was calm. He crossed over in his sleep. The message here is: You may not be the one to change the world, but you could directly influence the one who will. And that's all up to you.