The Gifted

Saying Goodbye Is Hard To Do

At Lyla's funeral everyone was hurt. Patrick and Tiffany sat on the edge of the valley just staring out into nothing, not even saying a word. They just didn't have any words to describe what they were feeling. Josh and Noah sat at the edge of the Neon river, saying all the things Lyla did as a kid, the way she laughed and how she played around in the dirt for hours on end and Max, Max was just throwing rocks into the river, just trying to braise himself for what is going to happen next. As the clouds gathered and the rain fell, we all thought of Lyla. It was weird, it was like the weather was feeling our sorrow. Every rain drop felt was Lyla kisses and every howl of wind was like Lyla was trying to tell us that it's going to be okay. That we shouldn't worry nor be scare of the future. My shoulder felt heavy as the weight of my guilt rested on me. I never really knew Lyla, she was always the shy quiet one. I always thought that one day we'll be friends...but now she's gone and that's never going to happen.

As we gathered around the neon river, no one said a word. We just stood in silence watching the water calming flow by. Patrick, Noah and Josh walked into the cave and brought out Lyla's body which was wrapped up leaves and vines. They placed her on some logs and stepped back. Tiffany stepped forward. "Today, we are saying goodbye to one of our own. Lyla was a shy but loving person who died too young. She was apart of this family and she'll be forever missed. Let her body rest in peace and let her memory stay forever with us." Noah walked over to me and grabbed my hand. He put my hand on the log and spoke.

"Light it up." I didn't dare protest. I focused my power into my hand and lit the logs on fire. We stood back and watch Lyla's body burn. The blaze was hot and powerful, but we didn't care. We couldn't feel the heat for the flame because we were too hurt by what just happened. By the time the fire cooled down, we collected her ashes and marched over to the Neon river. Each one of us picked up a pile of her ashes and sprinkled it into the river. We watched as her ashes floated away from us. We all left our separate ways. While everyone left, Josh stayed behind. I sat next to him.

"Are you okay?" I asked, trying to comfort him. This must be tough for him, I know Lyla and Josh were close.

"She was too young. Too young." Josh chocked on his words with a sob.

"I know, she was only twelve, wasn't she?" I replied.

He nodded. "She was like my little sister. We found her roaming the street when she was six. Her parents died from a car accident. She was forced to live on the streets."

"I'm sorry, Josh, but the pain does go away."

"I don't want it to go away." He replied. "Can I please be alone?" He asked. I let him be and stood up and walked over to Tiffany who was sitting at the Neon river with her toes dipped in. I sat next to her.

"Hey," She said smiling at me.

"Hi," I replied back. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine, Lyla is in a better place now. She won't have to worry about monsters and death ever again, her soul can finally rest in peace."

"No, I mean about the side effects." I said. "Has anything felt different and all."

Tiffany laughed. "Are you kidding me."

"Wha-"

"My best friend just died and you're here asking about me and my problems. That's just horrible." Tiffany snapped standing up. She walked off. "And by the way," She called out. "I'm fine." She left me alone. Maybe this wasn't a great time to ask about her, but I needed to know. I needed to know if she was okay.

Later that day, everyone was gathered at the court room. This place had some bad memories for me and everyone else in the pact. This is where we lost Sabrina and now Lyla. Their empty seat made the room fell lonelier and more spacious. "I'm sorry I had to call this meeting after..." Patrick hesitated. "What happened. But some recent news came up that shocked me. Zera is planning another attack."