Chapter 17.

Lea Katharina

by Lea Katharina

Story

“No, we should go.” Unsure, I blinked up at Rett. “I can’t. I mean I wasn’t even at the-.” Everett took my face in his hands and his silver eyes held so much understanding and love in them, it nearly made me lose a tear or two. His soft voice brushed over my lips. “He will understand.” I nodded my head at that. He’s right, Theo would understand. In comfortable silence we both walked towards the cemetery, both caught up in our own thoughts. A few steps away from the grave, Everett stopped, and I appreciated it so much. I need to do this on my own, saying goodbye, but not entirely alone. Never ever entirely alone anymore. I let my gaze wander over the beautiful swung letters: Theodore James Casters; Son, Brother, Friend; May he welcome everyone with a smile in heaven. A tear escaped my eye as I kneeled down on the grass. I’ll miss him forever. Whenever I see something that he might love, hate or just find funny. He’ll always be a part of me. I sank my gaze on the flowers in my hand. My voice cracked with emotion as I began talking. “Here you are, waiting for me.” A soft smile tucked at the corner of my lips. “And I’m late as always.” Even more tears made their way down my cheeks. “You probably saw that coming too, am I right?” I chuckled as I grew more and more comfortable talking. “I stopped by Aurelia’s shop today and just couldn’t say no to those flowers. Guess who helped me pick them out for you?” My gaze wandered to Everett, who opened his eyes, feeling my gaze on him, and smiled at me proudly. I turned back to Theo’s grave and picked some more at the flowers. “He helped me, you know? Bloody made me scream at him and everything. I know what you did Theo.” My smile slowly faded off my face. “You knew we needed each other when you-.” My voice broke once more. “When you died, you knew we would be helpless without you.” I was frustrated and didn’t want to hold it back anymore, “Why didn’t you tell us? We could’ve at least prepared for it in some way.” I shook my head. Now was not the time for accusations, it wouldn’t matter anyway. “Well, I guess you were never a fan of dramatic goodbyes. But that was bloody cold, even for you my little drama queen.” I smiled fondly up in the sky, it only seemed fair to do the one thing Theo wanted from me. I will never lose my smile again. Not when I now had him.

Everett’s gaze never left Celest’s tiny form, sitting on the grass. His heart fluttered as he saw her brilliant smile once again. He closed his eyes and thanked his little brother. He thanked him for always looking out for him, and promised, in the same thought, that he would do absolutely everything, that Theo’s sunshine would never lose her beautiful smile again. He felt her gaze lingering on him, so he opened his eyes, so that he could look into hers once more. She looked like an invisible pain had been lifted from her soul. He couldn’t help himself but to smile proudly at her. Yes, he thought, they were going to be okay. Everett couldn’t believe how Celest had turned his life around. He didn’t even know he could laugh and smile like that so often. It had to be something that was special about her. He just needed to look at her, and he would smile like a bloody idiot. Slowly, he approached Celest to sit next to her. They both talked to Theo for hours, and they both had the feeling that Theo was smiling down at them, rolling his eyes, shouting: “I told you so!” Because Theo was right, pain and grief isn’t something we need to work out all by ourselves. There’ll always be a special soul waiting for us.

© Lea Katharina 2024-04-26

Genres
Novels & Stories
Moods
Challenging, Emotional, Hopeful, Inspiring, Sad
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