Love in Darkness

Intro

Ever see that girl at a funeral? The one with dry eyes, who looks around with nothing to do? I'm that girl. My name is Clara McCormick, age sixteen. I had always believed that death is death. That if someone dies, they're dead. Harsh, I know, but I've always seen death that way. We're born, we live, we die. No exceptions.

...Boy, was I wrong.

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Chapter 1 - Part 1

I listened to the soft crying as mourners placed flowers in front of the memorial. I was silent with a hope that Haley was still alive. Carmen was crying next to me, her boyfriend Michael whispering words of comfort to her.

I looked down at my lap. So much mourning was diminishing my hope that Haley wasn't dead. My mother, Jeanne, wrapped a loving arm around my shoulder and hugged me. Against my will, a tear slid down my cheek. I had never lost anyone close to me since my Nana died. This loss of a friend hit me hard, especially since Haley was one of my best friends.

The search had lasted a month, before Haley's father finally gave up. He was crushed, of course, and he decided to give her a memorial on top of one of the tallest hills in the Bakerlynn City Cemetery. The marker was gray granite with one of Haley's most inspirational poems inscribed into it. It was one of my favorites from the many poetry works Haley had written.

After the service, I rode to Carmen's house with Vick. Vick was my best guy-friend; he was tall and had shaggy brown hair that hung to just above his shoulders. He was driving and the silence made the air thick. Michael drove Carmen's car in front of us and like in the movies, a light rain began to fall.

"Never thought it would happen." Vick said, breaking the silence. "Not to Haley."

I just nodded, not wanting to say anything. We came up to Carmen's house and we sat quietly in her living room. The rest of our "group" was there, and they murmured their memories of Haley. Carmen had finally managed to calm down enough to talk. It went around the circle until it came to me. Everyone looked at me, but I didn't want to speak, afraid I'd lose the hold I had on my tears. A memory of Haley flashed into my mind. It was the closest we had ever been.

"The summer after our freshmen year, we volunteered to help with the terrorist drill." Everyone already knew the story. It had been the funniest moment of Haley, Carmen, and my summer careers. "We were lying in the courtyard next to the fake bomb, soaking in puddles of fake blood while Carmen was taken hostage. We just laid there and laughed at our situation. Me with my hand missing and her with a hole in her neck. We were to people pretending to die, and laughing in the face of the imaginary end." Everyone smiled slightly, remembering how much we talked about the event afterwards.

It was well into the night when everyone began to leave for home. Carmen said she'd be fine for the night, but I waited until her mom came home from the parent's "grouping" at Haley's house before I headed home.

I didn't go directly home. Instead, with tears draining from my eyes, I went to Haley's memorial. I sat with my calves underneath me and read the poem over and over without taking in a single word. I just moved my eyes across the stone.

I was soaked with rain within minutes and a flash of lightning illuminated the graveyard. From the corner of my eye I saw a pale figure standing by the oak tree a few feet to the left of Haley's memorial. I looked, but no one was there. I stared at the spot where I thought I had seen the figure, and after a few seconds turned back to the memorial before rising to my feet. I got into my car and cranked it up. The lightning flashed, and I saw the figure again; pale and beautiful, though my eyes weren't quick enough to see it completely. I blinked in surprise, taking in a small gasp. Before I could look again, it was gone.

I had caught the face, though. It was a face I had seen so many times before, only bright and happy. This face was pale and lonesome. The face of a ghost as I saw it. Haley's spirit was here, and I was the last person to see her, at all.