VoyForums
[ Show ]
Support VoyForums
[ Shrink ]
VoyForums Announcement: Programming and providing support for this service has been a labor of love since 1997. We are one of the few services online who values our users' privacy, and have never sold your information. We have even fought hard to defend your privacy in legal cases; however, we've done it with almost no financial support -- paying out of pocket to continue providing the service. Due to the issues imposed on us by advertisers, we also stopped hosting most ads on the forums many years ago. We hope you appreciate our efforts.

Show your support by donating any amount. (Note: We are still technically a for-profit company, so your contribution is not tax-deductible.) PayPal Acct: Feedback:

Donate to VoyForums (PayPal):

[ Login ] [ Contact Forum Admin ] [ Main index ] [ Post a new message ] [ Search | Check update time ]

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Date Posted: 22:44:02 09/29/05 Thu
Author: Beck
Subject: In Memoriam

ED NOTE: This is short, but heartfelt. It has been nearly a year, but Slally is still missed dearly.



In Memoriam


A pristine blanket of white snow covered the cemetery, granite and marble markers rising out of the moonlit white ground. Traffic was silent for a change, the wayward blessing of the previous evening’s blizzard and the only sound was the whisper of the heavy snow-laden branches of the evergreen trees at the edge of the graveyard as they sighed and moaned beneath their burden.

He stepped from the safety of the shadows, his long black coat protecting him from the frigid air, his watch cap pulled snugly down. His boots, oddly enough, made not a sound as he strode toward his destination, a headstone, ornately carved with Grecian pillars on either side. The moonlight reflecting off the snow made it almost as bright as day and the single perfect red rose he laid with trembling fingers atop the marble marker seemed to be the only spot of color in the nighttime tableau.

A distinctive crunching of boots in snow caught his attention, but he did not turn his head. He merely shut his eyes and smiled. “Hello, Sara.”

“Hey, Nottingham.” The Witchblade winked in recognition as Sara lifted her hand to brush her chestnut brown hair back from her face. “What brings you out tonight? Playing vampire?” She smirked at him and then stopped and squinted a moment, staring at the tombstone behind him.

Normally he’d have risen to her teasing, taken the bait and returned a cryptic witticism. Tonight, however, he silently shook his head. He took note of her curious gaze, focused on the marble headstone and turned to look at it again himself.

“Strange….I never noticed that before…..”

“What?”

“If you aren’t paying attention the words, “IN MEMORIAM” look a lot like “IAN NOTTINGHAM.” Sara shivered briefly, her thin leather jacket doing little to protect her from the chill in the air. Of course, she wasn’t entirely certain it was the weather making her shiver.

Ian gave her a wry, but brief smile and then straightened to his full height. “When those we care for pass on, I suppose a small portion of us dies with them. Good night, Sara.” He turned and strode away, his boots strangely silent in the snow. A moment later he was gone, one with the shadows again.

Sara stood a moment longer and then looked one more time at the headstone. Now that Nottingham’s black coattails weren’t obscuring her view, she read the entirety of the monument:

IN MEMORIAM

SLALLY
LEFT THIS WORLD IN 2004 FOR A BETTER PLACE


Vibrant red rose petals fluttered to the ground, the wind picking them up and scattering them as the weather began to turn blustery again. She glanced heavenward, watching ropy clouds scudding across the face of the full moon and then pulled her coat a bit tighter about her, turning to go.

Ian Nottingham listened to the Wielder’s fading footsteps, pulling his own coat snug as he hunkered down at the treeline. One single red rose petal blew toward him, cartwheeling across the blanket of snow, coming to rest at his feet like a carmine red ruby against the pure white. He smiled at memories held dear even as a tear slid down his cheek into his beard.

[ Next Thread | Previous Thread | Next Message | Previous Message ]

Replies:

Post a message:
This forum requires an account to post.
[ Create Account ]
[ Login ]
[ Contact Forum Admin ]

Forum timezone: GMT-5
VF Version: 3.00b, ConfDB:
Before posting please read our privacy policy.
VoyForums(tm) is a Free Service from Voyager Info-Systems.
Copyright © 1998-2019 Voyager Info-Systems. All Rights Reserved.