Tears

Tears fell.
....One drop.
........Then two…
............and three.

We were all commiserating over our loss. His loss. Their loss. A room filled with family, friends, people he touched, all convinced that he shouldn’t have left. He was sick. He was in pain, fighting for so many years. He’s in a better place, they said. He’s not in any more pain, they said.

He shouldn’t have been hurting in the first place.
He didn’t deserve it.

I can still hear his voice, talking about the football game. Virginia Tech is gonna pull through. I can feel it, he said. I can still see the walks on the beach, colloquial conversation, on a cold winter day. It’s gonna be a beautiful day, I can feel it, he said. We’re gonna have a great year, I can feel it, he said. A girl without a dad, a wife without a husband, a boy without his brother. I can still feel my heart breaking for them. He made us strong and taught us what it meant to fight. We never saw him that January; he didn’t make it. No ice skating, no lunch, no football. And that’s why we were here, to meet at this juncture. To say good-bye.

It was a beautiful day, Uncle Sean. I could feel it too.

~ Anna H.