Caleb Shepherd

Golden

Beneath her knees the fresh soil settled, sinking her slightly closer to the casket placed in the ground mere hours ago. The sun was still high, the day far too bright for the dark cloud eclipsing her heart. The others had left, heading to the celebration of life set across town at her favorite coffee shop, but she couldn't leave. Her legs beneath her felt as though they were deep roots, they were there, but only to anchor her. She wept, clutching the headstone tight as if she held it tight enough the stone would morph into the form of the name engraved and become real, letting this whole ordeal fade into nothing more than a terrible week that could eventually become a dark joke shared between them.