Life Eternal

Chapter IX (Part IV) ~ Petals, Snow & An Empty Grave

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You heard the sound of grass rustle underneath his body as Anders slowly began to turn in your direction, speechless as one could possibly be; though your eyes remained closed throughout the entire procedure you were able to literally feel the weight of his gaze on your features, his fascination & confusion drilling right into your skull.
A sharp gust of wind was sent across the graveyard & all around the both of you leaves began to dance wildly, riding the storm with ease. It was indeed a strange feeling, being in a state of awareness in which everything still existed & was tangible with each of your senses yet how you reacted to it was no longer within your control as it did not seem to be your own consciousness but that of Pelle, albeit now existent in his most enlightened form.

And thus you allowed it all to happen, granted those alien thoughts to continuously flood your being & fill every corner of your mind, removing any last bit of resistance that was left. Whatever was going to happen within the next few minutes, you simply knew, would be alright...

               " I have missed you too, big brother... So...so much..."

It was Anders' voice that eventually shattered the silence, his perplexity over the situation he found himself in vibrating in every single word. The question how all this was even possible lay heavily on his mind, you could sense it without even having to try, however he seemed to have already realized that now was not the time for questions, let alone doubt. Surrender was the key as well as the only option.

Another breath stirred the cold air, a heavy one, trembling whilst being drawn. Anders appeared to be on the verge of crying but did his best to maintain a halfway collected & strong demeanour which you found nothing short of admirable given that he was finally talking to his deceased brother after 30 years of uncertainty. You certainly couldn't read minds yet deep in your heart you already knew what he was about to say next:

                 " H-how are you, Pelle? Are you ...are you doing well...over there? "

There was a brief pause in between those two questions as Anders seemed to be in slight distress once addressing his brother's whereabouts, not quite sure how to word it without making him sound even further away than he truly was. Little did he know that the gap separating the world of the living from that of the dead was as thin as a sheet of paper, if not even thinner, & that Pelle had always been around ever since that day he chose to abandon the physical plane, solely a single breath away.

             " I am doing well, little brother. I am finally doing well... & I have never been happier than I am now. "

Words that, just like before, flew out of your mouth without you consciously thinking about them, blending into your voice before consoling the agitated person that was sitting right in front of you, now releasing a sob so loud that it echoed across the graveyard & not even a second later he eventually burst into tears; judging by the hushed noises of multiple sobs that followed whilst his face was buried in his hands.

       " Don't you go all wimp on me now, Anders. Grown men don't cry, remember? "

His brothers cries immediately came to cease; what your ears then observed was a subtle but warm chuckle, one that for the most part was intended to conceal his inner turmoil & pain, yet at the same time you could tell he was about to drift away from this state of doubt into a more trusting one now that he had recognized Pelle's blunt way of expressing himself.

              " You really stayed true to yourself this whole time, didn't you..? "

" Of course I did. Abandoning myself was never an option, not even in death. It shouldn't be for you either. Ever. I have seen you almost doing that several times in the past few years...“