The Road w/ Anna Part 13
The next couple of weeks flew by fast after that night all due to getting everything ready for the funeral. Ana had been writing out a song for the service just so that she would keep her promise to her brother. Once in a while Trent would come by to see how she was doing and maybe help her father with the arrangements around the house so that there would be enough room to fit everyone who would come to the house afterwards if they chose. All the while Ana slowly redecorated the house with her brothers’ paintings where only she could see them. She knew that it was something her brother would have wanted her to do and that made it all ever more special.
When the day finally came on what would have been Jack’s nineteenth birthday most of the population of their school arrived to pay their respects. It as an unusually chilly morning and everyone was dressed warmly except for Ana who had decided to face the cold wearing a light black dress as well as a bight blue scarf around her head. She needed to be as cool as possible if she was going to sing. It helped her throat when she sang during the cold weather. That’s what she liked about outdoor funerals during the fall a part from the sadness that went along with it.
After the sermon was over with Ana set up her chair and guitar as she looked at everyone who had come with tears in their eyes as she spoke, “Jack was an extraordinary kid. He loved to paint and loved his friends as much as his family. He never once gave up on anything or anyone. He saw the beauty in life that not many of us could see yet he did by showing it through everything he ever created. He was my brother but most of all he was my best friend and I’ll never forget that. He taught me so much that only now do I understand why he did. He loved to be in love and would do anything to show how much he cared. Only up until the very end did he tell me about his father and how much he understood why our mother gave us to my father. Steven Carter is the greatest father we could have ever hoped for. Not many of you knew how sick Jack really was until now only because he never wanted pity for his illness. He was strong just like I had helped raise him to be. To me he is never gone for he’s always with me no matter where I am. I just know that he’s always there telling me that I can do better. I wrote a song for him just as I had promised and now I’m going to sing it for you.”
She started to pluck at the notes
“Painted skies above us
waters so clear and fine
Music of the night filters through
You were there to follow us to
Love saved us all those times
With every road we walked beside
You were never far behind
You were my brother
You were my friend
All those time I’ve spent
Alone in my own head
You were always there
Reminding us of what we could be
You are my star
You are all I’ll be thinking of
Right up until the last goodbye…”
After the song was over everyone slowly clapped as she looked over at the casket with one sunflower on it. She smiled to herself then as she looked up at the sky for not one rose was there and somehow that made everything perfect just how she had hoped it would be. She looked off into the distance of the crowd to see Trent smiling at her with Dmitri and Nikki standing by him. In Nikki’s arms she held her son who looked so much like Jack.
She smiled to herself once more as she then looked at her brothers’ photograph with a sigh, “Looks like he was yours after all, Jackie.” She whispered softly as she walked towards her nephew.
Nikki smiled as she handed the baby over to her, “I never had the heart to tell him the truth.” She said with tears in her eyes as she touched his head gently, “His name is James Dawson Carter the second. It’s taken me months to finally name the little guy but I had to have his father with me somehow.”
Ana looked down at her nephew with a smile, “It’s perfect I think Jackie would have been proud to have been his father just as I hope this little one lives up to such a strong name.” She then looked up at Nikki as she placed a hand to her cheek, “He really did love you all the way up until the end. He never gave up hope that you would come back to him but promise me that you’ll keep in touch. I want to be able to be a part of my nephews’ life just as much as yours. It’s been a long road leading up to this moment when we’re all together.”
Nikki nodded as she held out a necklace with a rose pendant, “He once told me that this belonged to your mother. After her funeral you placed it around his neck to keep him safe.”
Ana nodded sadly, “It was just an excuse to keep from looking at it. Our mother was the rose so I gave a piece of her to him. I can’t believe he’s kept it after all these years. You should be the one to keep it with you, Nikki. He gave it to you because you were his rose and you should always remember that about him. He loved you above anything in this world to give you a piece of his heart.”
Nikki smiled sadly as she placed it around her neck with tears in her eyes as Dmitri squeezed her shoulder sadly, “Thank you, Ana. I’m sorry we deceived you in believing it was my fault for all of this.”
Ana shook her head, “I understand now why you did it. You were protecting hum just as much as I was but for different reasons. I’m just grateful that I know the truth so every thing’s not so complicated anymore. I think we all need to start off with a clear mind now that he’s gone. I think it’s one of the many things he would have wanted all of us to do. To just live without any regrets holding us back from moving forward with our lives.”
Trent came to her side as he smiled down at her nephew who stared up at him with a smile on his face. They all stood there smiling and talking as they made their way back towards the house where everyone else sat around talking to Ana’s father about their memories of Jack. Ana looked at everyone and felt as if she was starting to know her brother in a different light than the one she already knew. A part of her missed the person she never got to know. Her brother had been right he had seen a part of her that he knew resided within her for he knew he was just the same. On the inside they were different people from what they showed the world. It was a beauty that they held within each other that very few ever saw.
