It was a sunny day, the day a person doesn’t expect for a funeral. A hunched figure, dressed in black, approaches the grave of her husband who she found dead in the kitchen one week ago. He is being buried in the countryside in a field that is where his own parents and other family member going back generations. Her majestic face is covered in tears as the funeral comes to an end. She realizes that she will now be known as Maria the widow. As she prepares to walk to home, a old degraded town car pulls up and a man steps out. Maria, still teary eyed from the ceremony, comes up to confront the stranger. It is a friend from long ago in John’s high school days, Alex. Alex steps out of the car and with long strides approaches Maria, a solemn look appearing on a face usually filled with laughter.

“I didn’t think that you would show up” says Maria, wiping tears from her cheeks.

“I couldn’t stay away from the funeral of an old friend,” croaked John in a subdued voice, “May I see him?”

“Of course” Maria responded. They both walked over to the smooth patch of dirt where John had recently been buried. The tombstone implanted over the grave sparkled in the light. It was the newest tombstone to be laid in the cemetery in ten years. After reflecting for a time, Alex remarked “You know, coming over here, I could only think about the bad things that happened between John and me.”

“I had a moment like that as well. I could only remember the times where we argued and none of the good times. However, the moment passed. I think it was from the shock of him dying so suddenly.” responded Maria.

“I suppose that is possible, but still, I can’t get the image of the last time I saw John out of my head. It was the last day of my senior year and I was coming home from that final exhilarating day. I was passing by a boarded up theater when I was tackled from behind. The attack stunned me so much, that I didn’t react to my assailant until I was being dragged through soggy carpet in the movie theater. As I started to struggle against my attacker, a voice responded that stopped me cold.