Melice

daUnknownGuy:
a voice echoed in her head go on melice, im still looking at you from above... find the one who loves you more than i did... the one who deserves you better... and stop coming to the graveyard... move on melice, i want you to be happy melice... and you promised to not do cigarettes... move on... find someone... the world is a big place... there willl be atleast one person in this world who will love you more than i did, who will make you love him more than you did... and accept the new love... and forget me... his voice faded

Melice:
Melice froze, the words echoing in her mind like heaven’s own voice. Fred’s voice, so tender, so full of the love he’d never failed to give her, not ordering, but begging. Begging her to live, breathe, stop drowning in the ocean of her own grief. She stood there, with the weight of his words pressed down upon her, heavier than anything she’d ever felt before.

This is just my mind. A hallucination. A trick of grief. But the conviction in those words… the way they wrapped around her like his arms once had… she couldn’t deny how desperately she wanted them to be true.

She turned toward his headstone, her hands trembling as they reached out to touch the cold marble. "Are you really here?" she whispered, her voice cracking. "Or am I just losing my mind?"

No answer came, but the autumn wind stirred, carrying the scent of rain and fallen leaves—a smell she’d always associated with him, that first day they’d met under the willow tree, their laughter blending with the scent of damp earth.

Go on, Melice… I want you to be happy…

The words replayed in her mind like a mantra, and suddenly, without warning, Melice sank to her knees, her hands gripping fistfuls of the grass. "How do I move on?" she pleaded, her voice raw. "How do I stop loving you? You’re in everything—the way the sunlight filters through the trees, the sound of rain on the roof, the stupid habit you had of humming off-key when you were sad…"

Her voice broke, tears spilling over as she laughed through the sobs. "You were… you were everything to me. How do I just… let go?"

"Okay," she whispered, her voice steadier now. "Okay, Fred. I’ll… I’ll try."

Standing once more, Melice took one final look at the grave. She didn’t cry. Didn’t scream. Just stared, as though memorizing every detail—the way the light caught the edges of the stone, the faint engraving of Fred’s name, until it seared itself into her memory for all eternity.

"Thank you," she said softly, tears finally streaming down her face now, but different somehow. Lighter. Almost hopeful. "For everything. For loving me so much. But it’s time… time for me to let you go."

She turned to leave, her steps faltering as she fought the urge to glance back. But as she walked, a faint breeze carried the scent of rain and willow trees and him, and for the first time in months, her heart didn’t shatter. It ached, yes. But it also felt… lighter.

She walked on, into the light, and somewhere beyond the graveyard, a new chapter waited—one Fred had demanded she open, even from beyond the veil. And as she stepped into it, Melice knew she’d carry him with her always… but no longer let him define her life.