#6: The Yard

"It's quiet out here."

"It would be if you'd shut up."

"No, I mean like, no crickets or cars passing by or anything."

"Shhh."

Ryan somehow knew that it was better to stay quiet walking through Live Oak Resthaven. The concrete and stone slabs around us stood stoic, quiet, and alert. I couldn't help the feeling that talking or whistling would break the spell they had over the place. I followed, though, in quiet, as he was the leader.

Finally we stopped at a grave; a sculpture of a woman grasping a headstone, mourning her lost love.

"Here she is," he whispered. "I stayed the night here one year ago tonight. It's your turn."

"You're staying too, right?" I blurted loudly.

"Shh! Of course not. You think I'm going through it all again?"

"All what, for God's sake? What happened?"

He never did tell me what it was that happened that night. We had joked about it before hand, put money in a pot, and I swore that if he did it, I would go a year later--the second date carved into the rock. But when he came back, he didn't joke, he didn't laugh when we asked him how it was. His relationship with Sara fell apart quietly, and he didn't seem to mind working later hours at the record store.

"We can talk about it in the morning. God knows I've waited too long to talk about it. I can't wait."

He turned and I wasn't able to see him for more than fifteen second until he was swallowed by the darkness. I was afraid I would be swallowed next.

Issue Six Index