Heartbreak Cemetery
So Far Away
The cold wind blew, filling the night with an eerie surreal glow that sent chills down the young girls’ spine. She walked the few feet from the front of her house to the broken down Mustang in her driveway. The only sounds being made were coming from the wind that blew the girl’s hair gently across her face, and the music softly leaking out of the girl’s SkullCandy headphones. She opened the Mustang’s door and sat down in the passenger seat. From the glove compartment, she pulled a small glass pipe and a small sack of weed. She lit a cigarette and sighed softly, the wind still coming in from the busted windows and cracked windshield. With the cigarette dangling in between her lips, she filled the small pipe to the brim, carefully shielding the light material from the wind, inhaling between her teeth, exhaling through her nose. Once the cigarette was half spent, she put it out on her tongue and replaced the cigarette with the pipe. With the lighter she set fire to the herb in the pipe and inhaled slowly, keeping the embers lit enough to give her what she needed. Once her lungs were filled, she exhaled and the hole that was growing in her chest, shrunk in size. Small, but at the same time, very huge, she thought, as she hit the pipe again, humming along to the song that was now playing on her iPod. It was ‘So Far Away’ by Avenged Sevenfold, one of her favorite songs. M. Shadows amazing voice was singing exactly what she was feeling.
I have so much to say and you’re so far away.
At that moment, her phone rang, giving her a scare. She answered it without glancing down at the screen. Pulling one of her ear buds out, she sighed a small, “Hello?”
*Hey, mi hija.*
Sleep tight, I’m not afraid.
*How are you?*
“I’m ok, Grandpa, how are you?”
The ones we love are here with me.
*I’m good, you know? I’m not hurting as much anymore, I think I’m finally ok.*
Lay away a place for me.
“I’m glad to hear that, Gpa. How’s Gma and everyone at the house?”
Cause as soon as I’m done,
*They’re ok, and so are you, mija.*
I’ll be on my way, to live eternally.
“What do you mean, abuello?”
*You will always be in my heart, mi hija. You are my granddaughter and I love you. I’ll always be with you.*
How do I live without the ones I love?
“I know you will be, I just wish I could’ve done something to make you proud of me. I wish I wasn’t such a disappointment.”
Time still turns the pages of the book, it’s burned.
*Hija, you didn’t have to do anything to make me proud, and you were never a disappointment. Not to me, your grandmother or your parents. We all love you.*
Place and time always on my mind.
*Nothing will ever make me stop loving you, nothing.*
And the light you left remains but it’s so hard to stay.
“Same here, Grandpa.”
When I have so much to say and you’re so far away.
*Now, let me see that pretty smile of yours.*
I love you.
“What you mean ‘see’, you crazy? You can’t see me right now.”
You were ready.
*How do you know?*
The pain is strong and urges rise.
*I could be spying on you right now.*
But I’ll see you, when it lets me.
“Haha, I never thought about that.”
Your pain is gone, your hands untied.
*Well, I got to get going mi hija.*
So far away.
“Alrighty Grandpa. I love you.”
I need you to know.
*I love you too, goodbye.*
So far away.
“Goodbye.”
And I need you to, need you to know…
The girl tossed her phone down on her lap and sighed, for what seemed like the 100th time that night. She looked down at her lap as the song softly came to an end. She saw her iPod, pipe, drugs but no cellphone. Didn’t she just have her cellphone on her? She sighed and picked up the pipe, almost finishing off what was left in it. As she exhaled, she turned to her left to look out the window, and saw a quick flash of a certain old man standing outside on her yard, smiling and waving. At that very moment, something struck her core like a huge bell being tolled. She knew her grandpa would be just fine. She knew all the tears she shed wouldn’t bring him back, but the happy memories will keep him close to her always. She hit the pipe one more time, and then put that and the drugs back in the glove compartment, and lit her cigarette back up. She let a few tears fall as she looked up at the sky, knowing perfectly well that Grandpa was looking right back at her, smiling the smile he would always give her, when she either walked into the room or woke up in the morning, not caring about the things she did, just the person she was, the person he loved. She looked up and smiled back.
Dedicated to the memory of my Grandpa, Santiago Garcia Sr.
Born: July 25th 1928 Died: September 7th 2012
R.I.P. Grandpa, I’ll miss you…
I have so much to say and you’re so far away.
At that moment, her phone rang, giving her a scare. She answered it without glancing down at the screen. Pulling one of her ear buds out, she sighed a small, “Hello?”
*Hey, mi hija.*
Sleep tight, I’m not afraid.
*How are you?*
“I’m ok, Grandpa, how are you?”
The ones we love are here with me.
*I’m good, you know? I’m not hurting as much anymore, I think I’m finally ok.*
Lay away a place for me.
“I’m glad to hear that, Gpa. How’s Gma and everyone at the house?”
Cause as soon as I’m done,
*They’re ok, and so are you, mija.*
I’ll be on my way, to live eternally.
“What do you mean, abuello?”
*You will always be in my heart, mi hija. You are my granddaughter and I love you. I’ll always be with you.*
How do I live without the ones I love?
“I know you will be, I just wish I could’ve done something to make you proud of me. I wish I wasn’t such a disappointment.”
Time still turns the pages of the book, it’s burned.
*Hija, you didn’t have to do anything to make me proud, and you were never a disappointment. Not to me, your grandmother or your parents. We all love you.*
Place and time always on my mind.
*Nothing will ever make me stop loving you, nothing.*
And the light you left remains but it’s so hard to stay.
“Same here, Grandpa.”
When I have so much to say and you’re so far away.
*Now, let me see that pretty smile of yours.*
I love you.
“What you mean ‘see’, you crazy? You can’t see me right now.”
You were ready.
*How do you know?*
The pain is strong and urges rise.
*I could be spying on you right now.*
But I’ll see you, when it lets me.
“Haha, I never thought about that.”
Your pain is gone, your hands untied.
*Well, I got to get going mi hija.*
So far away.
“Alrighty Grandpa. I love you.”
I need you to know.
*I love you too, goodbye.*
So far away.
“Goodbye.”
And I need you to, need you to know…
The girl tossed her phone down on her lap and sighed, for what seemed like the 100th time that night. She looked down at her lap as the song softly came to an end. She saw her iPod, pipe, drugs but no cellphone. Didn’t she just have her cellphone on her? She sighed and picked up the pipe, almost finishing off what was left in it. As she exhaled, she turned to her left to look out the window, and saw a quick flash of a certain old man standing outside on her yard, smiling and waving. At that very moment, something struck her core like a huge bell being tolled. She knew her grandpa would be just fine. She knew all the tears she shed wouldn’t bring him back, but the happy memories will keep him close to her always. She hit the pipe one more time, and then put that and the drugs back in the glove compartment, and lit her cigarette back up. She let a few tears fall as she looked up at the sky, knowing perfectly well that Grandpa was looking right back at her, smiling the smile he would always give her, when she either walked into the room or woke up in the morning, not caring about the things she did, just the person she was, the person he loved. She looked up and smiled back.
Dedicated to the memory of my Grandpa, Santiago Garcia Sr.
Born: July 25th 1928 Died: September 7th 2012
R.I.P. Grandpa, I’ll miss you…