First date

First date

Late in august, a young man is getting prepared for a blind date, now with the whole world falling apart you would think dating would be the last thing on his mind but quite the opposite. You see the date had been planned in advance when both parties would be free for this weekend, as they both have pretty busy schedules. Now this young man, who goes by Charlie, was getting ready in his room, wearing cotton long sleeved, black shirt and black pants to match. The blind date was happening in a space picked by the other party, it was still a public setting but they wanted to meet somewhere they would feel comfortable and safe and Charlie respected that decision. 

The drive wouldn't be long and it wasn't too far from charlie's place that he would be there within 20 mins with no traffic.Now the place chosen for a first date was odd to say the least and it had charlie question if he should follow through with the date or not. It was at the town's local cemetery that had a family park right next door. Now in any other town this might be weird but here it really wasn't and made sense, visiting passed on loved ones while the children played made a lot of sense.

Charlie pulled into the parking lot of the cemetery/park and saw a few people out and about the area, he pulled up his phone and texted his date "I'm here, whose tomb should I be looking for?". He started scrolling down his text messages as he waited for the response and saw the text pop across his screen " The one next to the apple tree" and Charlie turned off the car and got out to head toward the grave.

The grave under the apple tree is famous due to the fact the headstone only inscription says (Alive in peace, no strength in death). It's one the oldest mysterious in the town in which Charlie lived. Walking past the rows of tombstones, walking slowly in respect to those who passed, Charlie kept his head toward the apple and toward the familiar tombstone he had seen so many times before. As he got closer he could see a person sitting next to the tombstone on top of a blanket with a basket opened and food being laid out.

As soon as Charlie got close to the person laying out the picnic spread he began to smile. Waving and saying hi he stood beside the blanket and the person looked up with delight on their face and then stood up. "Charlie, it's so nice to see you again after all these years!". Charlie's face was white, almost as if he had seen a ghost, and in fact it was. Now this wasn't an actual ghost but more like someone from Charlie's past he was never expecting to see again. 

"Gil, what are you doing here?" Was the only thing that Charlie could get out, as the person named Gil came and hugged him.Charlie didn't hug the person back, after all he hasn't seen them in over 10 years. And this was the last time they had seen each other, in front of this very tombstone. "Gil why did you set this up?" Charlie asked slowly. Gil just looked at him and shrugged their shoulders before replying "I guess I missed you if I was being honest and wanted to catch up.'' Gil cheerful response.

 Charlie nodded then sat down on the blanket next to the tombstone and began cleaning it up without saying anything. "Do you remember when we met here? You were so confused" is how Gil started the conversation. Charlie looked at Gil and laughed "Well anyone would be if they come out a fresh grave alive even if they are supposed to be dead." after saying that Charlie started laughing and Gil couldn't help themselves but to join in. They spent the rest of the night talking until dawn started to peak over the tree line, Gil stood up and hugged Charlie, stating that maybe they should do this more.

 Charlie looked Gil in the eyes and sadly smiled " I would but, I'm thinking of leaving and I just don't know when." All Gil could do was nod in response before letting Charlie go and stepping back. "Do what you have to, be happy. You deserve to be happier than a lot of us out here". Charlie began to walk away as Gil began to clean up, Gil looked at his back as Charlie started to walk away. "Just, don't forget where you came from". Charlie didn't acknowledge the statement but he heard it and kept walking with his back to the rising sun.

Gil waved at Charlie’s back, remembering the day they turned him into the beast he was today.

Looking into the rearview mirror,Charlie began remembering when the last time he had ever come to this cemetery. It was 10 years ago, the last time he had seen Gil. During his rising, Gil was there during every step of the way and even helped Charlie pick his tombstone inscription. Now the whole night was exactly what Charlie needed before he decided to leave town, maybe forever if the world allowed for him too. Charlie knew after his rising he wouldn’t be able to stay in his hometown but he hoped so. But it started to become more and more obvious that he stayed the same way he did 10 years ago and he wasn’t aging. Under the guise of moving away for a better job opportunity and he’d come to visit, he just never clarified when. Driving to his childhood home, Charlie looked around and smiled at the small town he called home for over the past 50 years and smiled, it was time to move on.

This was the best first date Charlies had in a long time, Charlie's only thought was thanking Gil for the best memory of the cemetery.