Sincerely Yours, Bill Cipher

The Son You Loved

As Yule and I stroll through the graveyard, I wonder just how many names are here. How many people here are still mourned today? How long will people mourn for Yule until he's forgotten entirely? These names on the stones might be eternal, but their memories aren't, are they?
Surveying the cemetery, I find we are not alone. Sure, there were one or two others near the entrance, paying their own respects to loved ones, but we know these people. It's Tyler and Mrs. Shields at Yule's grave.
I hide behind a nearby headstone. They look like they're having a private moment, but Yule leans intently over the stone I hide behind, watching the two and listening intently. He makes no move to tell me to give them space, so I listen too.
"-didn't you tell me?" I hear Mrs. Shields ask desperately. "Baby, I love you! Always, always. If I had just known, I would've helped you! Oh, how could I have been so ignorant?"
"Mom, no, no," Tyler pleads, his voice strained. "None of this is your fault! I didn't want you to know-"
"Why, Tyler? Why? I only-"
"Because I'm not the frickin' kid you gave birth to, mom!" he bursts, his voice quivering on the verge of tears. Yule gasps, his eyebrows scrunching together as he watches.
"Do you think I care?" his mother returns gently, her voice breaking. I imagine her taking his hands in hers or bringing her hands to his face. "You are mine. You."
"You wouldn't think that if you could see what I really am. Do you understand, mom? I'm not even human. I've never been the son you loved. You kept loving someone else who I simply replaced," Tyler murmurs softly.
"Tell me this, love. Who was the child who held his newborn brother on Christmas Day, thanking his parents for the best present ever? Who was the child who was so smart and kind, he even helped the kids who would tease him with their schoolwork? Who was the boy who held his mother's hand during her husband's funeral, telling her how much he loved her, and that he would take care of her? Who was the young man who held her at his own brother's funeral?" Her voice breaks and she sobs. "The same brother he held that Christmas morning? His precious present? Who held her while she cried and gave her all the love and comfort in the world? While he held her, and she knew how lucky she was to have been blessed with such an amazing son? You, my baby. You, Tyler."
Tyler falls completely into sobs and torn cries, letting everything he never let out during his whole life out. His mother coos and whispers to him softly, so quietly that I can't hear. But it's no matter. Those words are meant for the two of them alone to share. I imagine her cradling him as I hear him crying out and weeping bitterly.
"Never leave me, baby," Mrs. Shields mumbles desperately. After a pause, she adds, "Well, until you find a beautiful spouse you love more than anything and have my beautiful grandbabies with, then you can leave." Tyler hums contentedly.
"Of course," his mother continues, "that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to meet my biological baby someday."
"I met him today, mom," Tyler hiccups. "What a coincidence, right?" he laughs, his voice coming out in chokes. "He's a really nice guy. His name is Florian. He's aged a little differently than I have, so he looks like I did when I was Yule's age. He's having a baby in a few months, mom." I can hear the smile in Tyler's voice. "He says he'll come back soon, so his child can experience both worlds, then decide which it wants to grow up in. You're going to have a grandchild sooner than you think."
She gasps with delight, but hums in thought right after. "I don't even know my own child, and he's going to have a baby? Oh, Tyler, I'm not ready!"
Tyler laughs. They sit in contented silence for a minute. Then Tyler says, "Well then, let's do what we came here to do, shall we?"
"We shall."
Staying as out of sight as possible, I peek my head out beside the stone I'm at to watch what's happening. Tyler and Mrs. Shields are holding hands and kneeling in front of the headstone. Their eyes are closed, and their lips move independently with silent words.
Yule gasps again, his eyes going wide with shock. "I-I can hear them!"
"Really?" I ask, my voice barely a whisper.
"Yes! When they talk to me here, or even 'think' to me here, I guess, I can hear their voices!" He closes his eyes and listens. I see him put on the occasional smile. I can see the delight and longing in his face. He walks up to his mother and presses a kiss to her forehead.
     She sighs and smiles, amazingly warmed by the gesture. I wonder how he can chill people at some points, yet warm them so strongly at others.
     Yule looks at me and smiles so widely, I fear his face might split. "I love this place!"
     Interesting graveyard quote, but I'll take it.
After a few minutes, the two family members stand up together. Mrs. Shields places a hand on Yule's headstone. "Goodbye for now, my love."
Tyler's expression is, no doubt, much different from his mother's. He's obviously remembering the events of earlier today. He looks up, his eyes closed, and smiles. "Thanks, Yule."
     After they leave, Yule and I approach the grave. Yule sighs and sits on top of the stone. "This is so surreal. That's seriously my name on this thing. And there's a cheesy epigraph and everything!"
     I snicker behind my hand. "I thought it was endearing. You think it's cheesy?"
     "Obviously!" he exclaims with a lopsided grin. "Honestly, Bill, have you never seen a gravestone before? They're all the same thing, basically. If they want to try to be 'original', they'll probably have some Shakespeare quote or something too. Man, we really outta do something about the headstone market, don't we, Bill?"
     "Yeah," I laugh, "because that's definitely what I want to do with my life."
     Yule turns serious, but still keeps the smile. "Thanks for coming here with me, Bill. This is just what I needed."
     "Good," I say with a pleased nod. "Why don't we go home now? We've got a heck of a lot of story to catch you up on."
     "Oh, do you now?" asks Yule, sliding off the stone. "Well, I'm all ears."
     So we leave side by side, two friends just relishing the blessing to be able to have a conversation.