I Remember (Wishful Beginnings)

Written By: Lady Eclipse

The breathless wind whispered by carrying with it a thousand unspoken secrets hushed in the infinite silence of a hasty rush of air. There was a bitter chill to it forbidding and bleak from its arctic travels suggesting that winter was closer than thought. The sunset hued leaves, collected upon the ground in a random display, was brushed about by the laughing wind like a careless child flings about his toys. The sun was low leaving a fiery blush upon the land and a symphony of colors to the sky; a final show before darkness drowned the tender display. The barren trees looked on, branches swaying in the breeze, unwilling to quite succumb to the cold but looking forward to their sleep.

She stood amidst the subtle sight finding serenity in its unhurried pace. Her half closed eyes suggested her need for continued sight of the beauty around her as well as the sleepy peace it had lulled her into. The wind made game of her golden hair splaying it around her face to mimic the rays of the fading sun. A smile played upon her lips as she reached a hand to return order to the chaos the playful wind had unleashed upon her thick mane. With a whimsical sigh she urged her legs to movement but cast back a regretful glance toward the sight missing it already. The cooling air nipped at her exposed throat and ears with a stinging bite telling her to hurry with her task so that the sleep of the dormant creatures about her may not be disturbed for long.

Her steps were swift, urged on by the pressing cold, yet a part of her lingered in the fading light. As the darkening blues of evening passed through the sky like a brushstroke she soon found herself atop a small hill marked by a lone oak sapling. Relena smiled slightly at it as her feet crunched through the fallen leaves and decaying grass. The tree itself was but a fledgling planted a scant few years ago. Already it had surrendered its burden and stood facing the winter resolutely. At its base rested a small, weathered plaque with a few words elegantly etched into the fine stone. Relena fell to her knees before it laying down a bouquet of daisies at its side. She closed her eyes and somehow managed to hold back the tears that threatened to betray her heartache. Even after all those years the pain remained, faded albeit but lingering.

"I had to come see you. I was reviewing all the progress made since you died and I realized how much has been done. I know how important all of this was to you and how you were ready to give your life at any moment to make it real. Ever since then I've tried to do things as you would have done so that your death wasn't wasted." She murmured in an emotion choked voice. "There is peace and the Preventers fight to keep it. You'd be so proud..." She hesitated as her emotions got the better of her and a crystal tear or two escaped her defenses. The cold trails they left on her cheeks soon fell prey to the eager wind who lapped them up. "I know that you'd probably want me to go on with my life and stop hanging around your memorial, but every so often I need to come see you and remember why I must keep going. I just want you to know that your dream never died and that I love you very much, I always have and always will." Placing an icy hand upon the plaque she closed her eyes and allowed herself to indulge in long dead memories of the past and what could have been.

At the sound of footsteps she hastily stood and wiped the wetness from her face. However, her eyes remained trained on the plaque as her hair fell forward to curtain her face from public view.

"So there you are. We've been looking for you." A man with ducelet tones said as he approached her.

"Really? I'm sorry, I didn't realize....what did you need?" The man chuckled softly,

"It's six o' clock." He replied softly. The woman gasped, then sighed with frustrated resignation as she glanced at her watch.

"Then I missed the meeting." She stated with grim anger. The man chuckled softly,

"It wasn't that important. Besides, I think everyone understands why you were absent...." His voice trailed off as his eyes meaningfully dropped to the plague.

"An old anniversary is no excuse to miss meetings." She replied flatly.

"Relena, it's okay. Don't try to be superhuman, you've got emotions just like the rest of us." He paused for a moment in silent meditation, "I understand how you feel. I still miss my father too." Relena glanced up at the young man and caught the momentary regret and lingering pain that was evident upon her own face only moments before. She smiled painfully and nodded her head slowly.

"You're right. I just wish someone would tell me when this will stop hurting."

"Me too."

They stood in companionable silence as the waning light of the sunset completely disappeared from the shadowed horizon. Relena glanced up at the dark sky and took a deep breath,

"Let's go." She said in a hushed tone, unwilling to break the gentle quiet that had enveloped the air around them.

"Do you need a ride? I could give you a lift back into the city." He replied with a gentle smile.

"That would be nice, thank you Quatre."

"Why do you come here instead of to his grave?" Quatre asked as they made their way down the smoothly sloping hill.

"I come here because I don't really feel like he's completely dead. This just seems right somehow. Besides, father loved this park. I always felt closest to him when he took me here as a child. This is how I want to remember him, not some cold stone amongst other cold stones." Relena replied with a shrug. Quatre nodded solemnly. "Anyway, what happened at the meeting?" She asked to break up the sad mood.

"Duke Renolds and Count Marquez are still going at it about oil rights." He said with a bright smile.

"Oh dear, those two look like bullfrogs when they puff themselves up with righteousness." They both laughed heartily at that. They continued in their light hearted conversation as they exited the sleepy, yet stately, park.

*

The stars appeared one by one shining brightly against the velvet sky. The moon rose with the stately grace of a hundred noblewomen bringing with it the soft glow of the sleeping sun. Far below, on the dozing earth, the wind played its endless game racing throughout the landscape. Rushing past the bare branches of a lone tree, it toyed with the delicate daisies lying at the tree's base trying its best to pull them free of their plastic confinement. Finding the wrapping too tight the wind moved on to the easier sport of the fallen leaves. It cast them too and fro with a raspy rustling sound sweeping them off the square stone that rested near the daisies.

In memory of the late vice-foreign minister Dorilan Died for the cause of peace Sleep well, your dream will never die

~If the people we love are stolen from us a way to have them live on is to never stop loving them. Buildings burn, people die, but real love is forever.~ The Crow

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Short and sentimental, I know. But I have always been touched by the deep bond that exists between parent and offspring as well as the bonds that exist between siblings and other people in our lives. I felt it important to reflect on Relena's love of her adopted father; something so rarely expressed but obviously there. I apologize for the plaque reading not having his full name. I really wanted it to be so but could not find anywhere what it was and it seemed wrong to make one up. If you are aware of his full name please email it to me so that I may make the necessary corrections. (nightcloud8@hotmail.com) Thank you for reading and now go give your parents a big hug or call them. You never know when you might lose them so treasure the moments that you have and never forget to tell them what they mean to you so that you never have to regret them dying without ever hearing your words.

Lady Eclipse Remember the past, live in the present, dream of the future. Treasure every moment in between.