Paper Cranes

No One

Death is... a strange thing. Though tragic, it has magical characteristics. For instance, it brings family, no matter how far apart, and friends, no matter how long forgotten, together to mourn the loss of someone who had been the farthest thing from their thoughts.

Elizabeth had died a month and a half ago, but, as heartless as it sounds, her mother decided to sell her body to medical research. The scientists finished their experiments and testing the week before. It was determined that she was infested with a new species of undetectable parasites that feasted on her organ tissue, causing them to slowly and painfully fail. A cure was being developed even as her funeral took place.

Elizabeth - that is - Elizabeth’s body now lay pale and beautiful in the white open casket, dressed to match the coffin. Her siblings, not her parents (more like her mother) had arranged the entire funeral. They had ordered the bottom of the casket to be hollowed out beneath her, but supporting her by steel, in order to bury as many paper cranes as possible with her. And when they had run out of room beneath her body, they had them placed around her sleeping beauty form.

Still, there were hundreds left over, and it had been decided that they would be given away to hospital patients alongside a few words of hope.

And what of Brendon?

Allow me to enlighten you.

Brendon, whom had founded the Elizabeth Hiroshi Foundation (which supplied hospitals with funds for equipment, research, and technology in order to prevent more patients like Elizabeth –unable to be diagnosed and trapped within hospital walls for the rest of their lives), sat on the curb just outside the church in his good suit.

A woman made her way towards him and sat down with him, careful not to let anything that should be covered seen.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey.”

“What are you doing out here?”

Brendon looked at the blonde for a moment before letting his eyes settle back on the cars.

“Sitting,” his eyes never left the traffic, “Escaping.”

The blonde sighed, “I know what you mean. All that crying...”

Brendon nodded, “So why are you out here?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I came looking for you. Ryan said you just ran off or something like that,” she replied, going through her purse.

She pulled out an oddly folded piece of paper with crinkles in it, but what really caught Brendon’s eye was the twinkling of her left hand.

“Cathy, are you getting married?!” Brendon asked in surprise.

“What are you- Oh, yeah! Matt proposed last night!” Catherine grinned from ear to ear.

“Congrats!” Brendon smiled as sincerely as her could at the moment.

“Thank you. Oh, by the way, I found this under the side table after you were released from the hospital. Sorry it took me a month to give it to you. It slipped my mind.” Catherine handed the paper to Brendon and stood, dusting herself off, “And don’t stay out here too long. Elizabeth’s siblings want to meet their little sister’s knight in shining armor.”

Brendon laughed half-heartily as he watched the blonde walk away. He focused on the folded piece of paper before he recognized the shape. Brendon gently pushed down the two triangular folds to unflatten (if you count that as a word) the bird.

In sprawling script he read:

Even when you’re old and gray and the sky opens up to bring you to me - I’ll still love you.