You're Not in This Alone

Leo and Shelby had picked a very good place for our new cemetery. It was a huge lawn between the Hudson River and a big, pretty house. Miranda had helped to build a mausoleum for Grace, engraved with her name, date of birth, and date of death. The date of death was July 3rd, Ebony’s birthday.

Now it was July 4th, Independence Day, but no one was celebrating. The holiday didn’t mean anything anymore. All thirteen of us were standing on the lawn in front of Grace’s casket. While she still wore her party dress, the rest of us wore black.

As if to contradict the sad event, the sun was shining brightly on the green grass. Grace almost looked alive again, but we all knew she wasn’t. Jason stood closest to her. He wasn’t crying anymore, but he was still in despair.

Everyone was very silent for a long time. We didn’t really know what to do. Finally Ebony spoke. “Jason, is there anything you want to say?”

He shook his head, still looking at Grace’s face. It seemed he was memorizing it so he never forgot what she looked like.

Ebony let go of my hand and stepped in front of everyone. “Then I’ll say something. We can’t just leave here without saying anything! Grace deserves more than that, don’t you think?”

Jason nodded.

Looking determined, Ebony started, “Grace was very special. She had a gift none of us could match. She was blind, but she saw more than any of us will ever see in our lives. But we all know that her gift caused her a great deal of pain. She felt and suffered through an unimaginal amount of deaths before her own. However, she also saw glimpses of heaven. Now she’s there. Even though we will miss her and she left a gaping hole in Jason’s heart, we can accept that her suffering is over. She will no longer have to carry the burden of other peoples’ pain.”

Many of the girls were crying, but Jason was still stone-faced. Maybe he saw the hope and truth in what Ebony was saying.

Seeing this opportunity, Ebony continued, “Along with leaving behind Jason, she left behind all of her struggles. She is free now, and there is no doubt in my mind that she can see. She once told me how she wished she could see the ocean, the sun, the sky… and Jason’s face. She can see it all now. She can now see.”

Jason suddenly looked up. “Miranda,” he said clearly. “Please carve that under her name. ‘She can now see.’”

Within seconds the stone fell away so that the plaque on the mausoleum said, “Grace. October 16th, 1994 – July 3rd, 2009. She can now see.” Silence fell over us, and the short ceremony seemed to be complete.

Jason stepped forward to close Grace’s coffin. Miranda lifted it to the car and slid it into the dark mausoleum. Then she covered the entrance with stone, closed the gate, and locked it. Grace was gone.

We each hugged Jason before we went back to eat dinner. I gave him an extra strong comforting pat on the back.

We ate rice and chicken fingers. It was a quiet, grim meal. No one had the heart to say more than, “Please pass the milk.” I was exhausted and ready to go to bed. So was everyone else.

That was when Ethan dropped his cup of water and fell face-first into the table.

Time seemed to slow down. The water from his cup crept across the table cloth slowly. Skyler came to attention and stared intently at Ethan’s chest. Everyone but Sarah froze. She looked at Ethan for only a second before she turned to Ebony. A horrible helplessness in her eyes, she declared, “His heart stopped beating.”

Ebony and I stood. I gave orders. “Everyone out except Nadia, Sarah, and Skyler.” I only influenced him because I knew he would watch anyways. Ebony was already pulled Ethan from his seat and onto the floor, but no one else moved. “Go!” I exclaimed. They scurried out.

Tears were already in Nadia’s little almost shaped eyes. Ebony pushed on Ethan’s chest rhythmically and blew air into his lungs every once and a while. I felt like I was watching with a detached mind. I did not think about the emotions that should have gone with the actions. I just watched.

Minutes passed. Tears tracked paths down Ebony’s face. Sarah and Skyler kept shaking their heads when she looked up at them. I knew she knew Ethan had been gone for good the second he fell, and nothing would change that. Maybe she did this for Nadia’s sake.

Finally, Ebony sat back on the floor and closed her eyes. She shook her head like Sarah had so many times.

“No!” Nadia cried. “Please, Ebony, don’t give up. He’s my best friend! He was just alive! Save him!”

“I can’t save him,” Ebony whimpered. “You know I want to, but I can’t.” She turned and wrapped her arms around Nadia’s small body and let her cry and scream.

Everything was carried out just the same as it had been the night before with Grace, only it was more mechanical and less thinking. No one wanted to think about what was going on.

Miranda moved Ethan’s body to his bed, and Nadia was in the room alone with him. Sarah and Skyler were sent to bed. Leo and Shelby worked on the funeral before going to bed. Faith and Tristan cleaned up dinner. Lance and Miranda went home. Ebony and I went to our bedroom too.

I did not sleep. Ebony did eventually cry herself to sleep, but I couldn’t let my eyes close. I didn’t want to see the images I knew I would when I closed my eyes. And although I blocked all the thoughts that I could, I couldn’t stop one: something was very, very wrong.