Morning’s first frost blanketed the floor,

Feet shuffled side to side, trying to keep warm.

Hushed voices murmured the usual words,

‘I’m sorry for your loss, he was a great guy.’

Despite the cold, and the early start,

The mourners still came:

Friends from the past as well as now,

And family gathered in front of the church on the corner.

Time ticked on, slowly as people waited.

Some ventured inside, away from the bitter wind.

And then he arrived.

Silence fell over the vast numbers left outside.

A long black car filled with flowers pulled up.
Close family stepped out and so it began.

Placed on the shoulders of those he loved,

He was carried past the congregation.

Blessed at the door, he entered his place of baptism.

So began the long walk.

Pews were crammed, two hundred people plus.

Tears fell, and the music played.

The church was cold but the sun shone through,

Speeches were made and prayers were said.

It didn’t last long, but the seconds slowed down.

Soon it was time and he was carried out again.

Positioned back in the car with the flowers back on top,

Shaky hands reached forward to touch the window.

The wind had long gone, but an icy chill remained.

With the final shut of a door, he was gone. 

- Louise Moira Formston

‘I’M YOURS’ she whispered softly. The silence between them told her everything she needed to know. She moved her head back and looked into his eyes. She saw it all. The tears he was holding back, the pain he’d felt, and the loneliness he could not overcome.

   Her hands dropped from his neck to her sides as she turned to walk away. She’d given everything she possibly could. Emotionally and physically drained she could no longer keep it together. Once she fell, so would he. She took careful steps towards the door, determined not to look back.
   
    His stomach fell as he watched her leave. Her feet barely touching the floor as she made her way out. He tried to move, tried to catch her but he was frozen, unable to move. Desperately, he opened his mouth to scream her name, shout her to stay but no sound came out. He was stranded, trapped in himself by his own emotions. One tear fell slowly down his face, as she disappeared into the night.
   
    Heart racing, she stopped against a wall. Tears streaming down her face, her chest rising and falling rapidly she summoned all of her strength to stand up straight and carry on waking. Using everything she had, she kept going. It was safe to turn around; he was no longer in a line of vision. Taking time to collect her thoughts she tried in vain to remember why she had fallen in love with a boy she thought she could change. Then it came to her. He had built her up, given her confidence she never thought she’d had. A second thought appeared in her confused mind; that confidence she had used to walk away from him when he needed her the most.

    He pulled himself up from his chair and punched the nearest wall within seconds. He was feeling emotion now, and he knew it was not the emotion he wanted. He wanted to be able to tell her he loved her, he loves her still. He wanted to be able to whisper in her ear that he’s hers, that he will look after her forevermore. But every time he began his sentence, he could not bring himself to finish it.

    Sitting down again he realized what he’d done. He blamed himself for her leaving, for her walking. She’d lasted as long as she could; he wasn’t surprised that she could not support them both any more. He’d ruined the one thing he’d ever valued, lost the only person he could ever trust.

    Slamming back the door, she found him sat in the same position she’d left him in. Blood slowly trickling from his fist, making a mental note to lecture him reprimand him later for it, she janked off her cardigan and wrapped it tightly around his knuckles.

    He looked up at her with disbelief. After everything, she was here. He opened his mouth to whisper softly to her but she was there first. Pressing a finger to his lips, he knew he need not say anything. Everything was forgotten.

‘I’m yours,’ she whispered.