Friday, January 17, 2020

The Nod

Years ago, after Sand died, when the night sky was clear I'd make a point of taking a moment to talk to him. Just an occasional brief snippet as I'd walk to my car- maybe something a a bit longer on the rare nights I would go camping. When Sims passed a few years later I added him to the ongoing conversation.

Usually these short dialogues would just be me hurtling the agony I felt at their loss towards the sky, struggling to force some kind of connection from across that starlit ether. After a while the frequency of these talks grew more sporadic- sometimes it'd just be couple of times a month, then other weeks it'd happen every other day- but they've never stopped. Honestly, I hope they never do.

 Over the last few weeks though, I've noticed that the tenor of these little exchanges had subtly begun to change- instead of a wistful sadness, I'd just throw Sims "the nod" (he'd know what I mean), or a bright star would catch my eye and I'd find myself smiling and telling Sand to stay frosty. After a particularly rough day, I trudged towards my door and started grumbling that they had better be playing a damn good game of D&D right now, and just the thought of that made me feel happier. It's taken a long time, but I've finally found myself being drawn towards my love of them rather than just wallowing in the loss.

I miss them.
I love them.
I really wish I could talk to them.

 But, by god, they had better be playing a damn good game of D&D right now.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

As we grow older and we've buried so many people close to us, we sometimes find ourselves alone, surrounded by the souls of our dearly departed to keep us company. I find it necessary to only speak to them in hushed tones otherwise people start to think your crazy. I find comfort in that.