Goodbye

 Wow. This is even more depressing than usual. Did you guys like it? Leave a comment, please!



    A heavy silence spread over the graveyard, broken only by the scuffling of small animals as well as the occasional despondent sniffle. Thick as the dreary fog that shrouded the area, the sinister quiet dug its stubborn way into the hearts of those present.

    The freshly laid gravestone was surrounded by an ocean of black; the dark clothes were an attempt to demonstrate the misery felt by the family and friends of the newly deceased. Bulky black coats were little protection against the aura of sorrow and lifelessness that filled the graveyard.

    Hannah Jones’s hands were shaking, eyes wide and fearful. Never before had she experienced such strong feelings as this. Her best friend had passed. The beautiful and caring Amelia Braddock, once jovial and free-spirited, was no more.

    Just three days prior, the closest of friends had been planning and plotting their next slumber party together. They had anticipated a weekend of careless fun, of blindfolded makeovers, of truth or dare and gossiping about the new hot transfer student.

    It was hard to believe that Hannah would never share a sleepover with Amelia again. She shivered, wanting, no, begging for the misery and shock to be gone. Her heart felt hollow, as if she’d never fully recover from the horrible sight of seeing her best friend in a coffin, pale as snow.

    She squeezed her eyes shut. No, she couldn’t take the agony. Amelia wasn’t dead. She couldn’t be. She was merely fifteen; the two of them were supposed to go to college together, and dorm together, and grow up together! This nonsense about Amelia’s being dead was a lie. It couldn’t be true. Amelia wasn’t dead.

    A lone tear slipped from her squinted eyes, triggering a sudden but steady flow of teardrops streaming down her cheeks. Her hands shook. Her lip shook. Amelia wasn’t dead.

    A speaker’s voice, mournful and low, shattered the quavering silence that had cloaked the graveyard. His words were unfamiliar to Hannah; the man spoke of paradise and better places. He lied, Hannah knew. Nothing could be happy right now.

    The world seemed to blur around her. When she finally forced herself to return from her numb world of dreary comfort, Hannah found that she had been left alone with the corpse. No, not the corpse. Amelia. Amelia wasn’t dead.

    Trembling, the teenager took a hesitant step towards her friend. Amelia’s face was very nearly blue. She looked as if she were merely sleeping, and Hannah wished she could believe so. Amelia looked tranquil and content. It was almost unnatural seeing her best friend without a hyper grin stretching across her face.

    “Amelia?” Hannah whispered, voice hoarse and grating. “I’m sorry. I’m so, so, so sorry that we couldn’t grow up together. Take care of yourself, okay? I’ll be praying for you.

    “I have to go now. My mom is probably going crazy looking for me, but you know how she is. She’ll have forgotten about it by dinner.” She released a dry, lifeless laugh. “I’m gonna miss you, Amelia.”

    Blood roared in her ears. Every instinct in her body told Hannah not to leave, to stay by Amelia’s side forever, but she knew she couldn’t do so.

    Heart pounding, soul empty, she got to her feet and left.