SUNSHINE

Prompt #1 Write a story about high school sweethearts coming across one another many, many years apart.

Total word count: 1319

                                                          SUNSHINE

    The sun was shining directly in my face when I woke up. There was a light breeze that made the curtains flail. I must have left the window open last night. It struck me as odd that Edgar did not close the window at night. And then I remembered. Edgar had died last morning. Today was his funeral.

     Struck with the same grief, I sat up in bed, not wanting to go anywhere, staying in the warmth and the scent of his side of the bed. 50 years we had been together. 50 years of fuzzy love. I do not think I can ever get over his death or ever stop loving him. My sister had helped arrange the funeral. The kids would be here soon. Maybe they already were.  

      I got out of bed to get ready. The calm spring breeze hitting my face as I go over to the windows to shut them tight. No sunshine for you today, I thought to myself.

      An hour later, I got downstairs. I met with my two kids and we shared our grief. Or rather, they shared their grief, as I was too numb to say anything. The house was abuzz with people. Blurred faces wishing me well as I walked past them. I knew these people. They knew me. They knew Edgar. Dear old Edgar.

      Another hour or two passed. Or was it three? I do not remember. Time seemed meaningless now. We were now in the graveyard, Edgar’s coffin had been buried and everyone said their final goodbyes. People gave me words of strength. “He’s in much less pain now, Jane.” “He’s in a better place now.” But how could he be in a better place? I don’t want him six feet under the ground. I want him here, with me. Slowly, the crowd started dissipating. And that’s when I saw him. Mat. Matthew. It had been, what, 60 year since I had last seen him? Talked to him. Been with him.

     My two kids came up to me. “Do you want us to stay, mom?” , asked the eldest one. “No, it’s okay, I can deal with this alone. You two go home and rest.”, I replied. They left and I looked at him again. 60 years and he still gave me butterflies when I looked at him. All the memories came rushing. The first date, the first anniversary, prom night, the last day we met and all the days in between. How could I ever forget him and the memories he gave me?

     I felt weak in the knees. Maybe it was because I saw Mat or maybe because of the fact that I was 80 years old now. Probably both. I moved toward him. Silence binding the two of us. He was motionless. I guess he saw the lowering of the coffin and heard my speech.

    “I cannot believe you came”, I whispered as the gap between us closed. He was silent. As usual. I did not want him to talk anyway.

     I stood facing him. Inches between us. The breeze swept my thinning hair into my face as we stood in the sun.

     “You still look as beautiful as the day I first met you, sunshine.”, he said. I was silent. His lips slowly forming the shape of a crescent moon. That smile of his always got me. I slightly wavered. But then I remembered what he’d done to me.

     “Shut up.”, I said, in the lowest voice possible, but he heard me. He always heard me. Tears started pooling up in my eyes. The audacity. How could he be so heartless? Meeting me like he didn’t ruin my life 60 years ago. Leaving me alone, without any reason. Everyone said we were the power couple. And then one day, he leaves without a warning.

     “Sunshine, come on, it’s been so long. 60 years. You should start forgiving now. I’m here for you. I was always here for you.”, he said in a calm voice.

      “I said shut up, Mat!”, I yelled. “This time I will talk and YOU will listen. You will finally know what happened after you left, Matty. You will finally feel guilty for what you did to me.” Another breeze, another longing silence. So he was listening now.

     “I tried to meet you. So many times.”, I started. “ I Tried calling you, and your mother always answered my call. Did she ever tell you? Just how many times I called you? I still remember. 20 times an hour for a month and then 10 times a day for a year. One year and I still didn’t get over you. I guess you threw the phone away after a while because all I got after two days was your voicemail. I still called, listening to your voice gave me a sense of calm. Everyone said I was obsessed. They wanted me to see a therapist. A therapist Mat! That’s how you left me. Utterly vulnerable. I thought I’d die. I was a lifeless body after you left anyway. A body living for the sole purpose of not dying. I tried, but I wasn’t brave enough. Your little sunshine was never brave, was she?”

     “And then came Edgar.”, I continued. “He filled my life with colour once again. Colour that I never thought could be in my life. He loved me with a passion, Mat. Maybe a passion that equalled our passion. He filled my darkest holes with light. I was finally able to live once more, not just exist. And then came the fear. What if he leaves me like you did? What if I can’t take it this time? What will happen then? But he waited, waited for me to trust him completely. And now he’s gone too. But that’s okay, it’s really okay because in those 50 years, I feel like I’ve spent a lifetime with him. Just like how we spent a lifetime in the three years that we were together. I don’t feel sad anymore. I just can’t wait to join him now. Any day now, and I will meet my Ed. Maybe you’ll meet us too, one day.”

    Another stretch of silence. It felt like ages before he finally spoke, “You’ve got to forgive yourself, sunshine. I love you, I always have and I always will but you have GOT to forgive-“ “IT WAS MY FAULT, MAT! I WAS SELFISH AND FOOLISH AND I SHOULDN’T HAVE CALLED YOU WHEN YOU WERE DRIVING BUT IT WAS MY FAULT!”, I cut in. “I wanted to talk to you about our future and I couldn’t wait till you got home to me and then suddenly, you vanished. You never came home. They told me it was a crash but I couldn’t believe it. Not for two months at least.”, I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “Please forgive me, Mat.”, I said, my body finally filling up with emotion. Emotion that I had buried a long time ago.

   What came next baffled me. “I can’t forgive you, sunshine.”, he said, head hanging down. I didn’t know what to say. “I can’t forgive you because it wasn’t your fault, Jane. It was never your fault.”, he continued. I let out a breath that I didn’t know I was holding in.

   “Just tell me you forgive me, Mat, please. Just do this one last thing for me.”, I said, half crying, half aching, head bowed down. He did exactly as I asked. I heard a faint voice saying, “I forgive you.” And a hand on my shoulder, and when I moved my head back to normal, all I could see was an old tombstone carrying the name, MATTHEW FOURNIER 1986-2004, with the epitaph, “ Always loved Sunshine.”