space rocks

“Hello, Stacy, I’m glad to see you and the kids had a safe trip.  I’ll walk you in.”  She steps forward and hugs the chubby beautiful brunette woman.

 

“Thank you.  Amelia?” The woman turns around to search for her daughter who was trailing a few steps behind her.  Her shoulders were drooping and she barely lifted her head in response.

 

Amelia… the girl that called you yesterday.  I’ve never seen such a beautiful girl, you think to yourself.  She looks at you with her big green eyes filled with questions.  You want to reach out to her and talk to her.  But you stand before her, completely frozen. 

 

“Charlie, right?”  She holds out her hand and shakes yours weakly.

 

 You’re beautiful, you think to yourself.  You can smell her rose perfume but can’t find any words to say.  You’re heart tears as you see the sadness and the questions in her eyes as she looks to you.

 

“I’m glad you made it back.”  She said with a sincere smile.  “Sorry about yesterday.”

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I’ve never seen such beautiful green eyes, they should never see tears.  You want to step closer and hug her.  But you can’t.  I am the reason your father didn’t make it back, you think to yourself.

 

“Would you sit by me?”  She points towards the building where the funeral will be held.

 

You notice her necklace as she points to the chairs inside.  It is a cross encircled with a heart.  She follows your eyes and you look away hastily.

 

“My father gave this to me, it’s lovely isn’t it?”  She holds the cross between her two fingers and raises it towards you.

 

“Beautiful.”  You say as you look at her.

 

She walks with you to the building and chooses a seat in the front row.  You look at her sitting gracefully with her hands trembling on her lap.  You want to hold her hand and comfort her.  You want to get to know everything about her.  But you say to yourself, If I tell her what happened she will never forgive me. I can never talk to her again. I can never forget what I did to her.  The funeral begins, and a pastor walks to the pulpit.  You and Amelia turn to look at each other every few seconds.  Beautiful, you think to yourself.

 

“There are only two types of men in this world.  Saved men and lost men.  Matthew Henry Scot was of the former.  He wasn’t afraid of death, he did not fear the unknown.  He came to me before this mission and told me that he might not make it back.  But that his soul will be waiting for each of you at the Father’s throne.  That he longs that each of you should have the same faith that he did.  That none of you should be the latter kind of man.  That you all would meet him in heaven.  He was a faithful follower of Christ.  He fought the good fight.  And in his last act, he sacrificed himself, to save many.  Echoing and depicting the message of Christ into history, his greatest whish fulfilled.”  The Pastor leans forward and looks towards the large photo of Professor Scot next to him.  He closes his Bible and lowers his head in a moment of silence.

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Who let this guy talk?  Probably a lot of people out there wishing they knew this was coming.  Good for Professor Scot, this is great, you would’ve loved this.  Yeah, you probably put this in your will, didn’t you?   You look over at Amelia, who is now clenching her hands together.  She reaches for her necklace and presses the cross against her lips. 

 

She leans towards you and whispers in your ear, “my father would’ve loved this.”

 

You take her trembling hands in yours.  Her mother is sitting next to her and looks to you with compassion. 

You take your hand away from hers awkwardly.  I can’t let myself love you.  You will hate me if you know.

She slowly moves her hand away too and rests it on her lap again.  She lowers her head and her soft brown hair falls like a curtain to the side, hiding her sad expression.  You want to take both her hands and hold her to your chest, tell her everything will be okay.  But you just sit, frozen.

 

  When the service ends she stands up without a word and walks to their car.  Doctor Penner walks to you.

 

“Man, kid, that was a stupid thing to do.  That is probably the only girl alive that can challenge you in the intelligence factor.  And I know she is the prettiest girl you’ve ever seen.  Kid, you look like my husband when he first saw me. She is a good girl.  You’re being stupid, kid.”  Doctor Penner is sitting behind you and decides to comment on your rejection of Amelia after she left. 

 

“Yeah, maybe, but she’ll hate me if she knew what I did.”  You stand up and start making your way back to the residence.  “And, I need to get back to South Africa.”

 

“Don’t be stupid, look at you being all mopey.  Get yourself together, kid.  What are you even talking about, what happened out there wasn’t anybody’s fault.  And even if she does blame you for whatever reason you think she would, she’s a good kid.  In no time she will understand things better, and forgive you.”  She points towards the parking lot and shakes your shoulder with her other hand.

 

“Yes, maybe, but I never will.” You turn away from her, trying to get some distance between the two of you.  The more you try to forget about her, the more you realise that she will always haunt you.