5. Seeking Solace

Demi found her friend sitting alone on the hill, witnessing the first streaks of light soak into the sky. She watched him for a moment, afraid she might never have the chance to see him like this again. He was a small black shadow against the dawning light of day, crumpled and hunched over himself but still the same Madding she always knew. He sat so still, just taking in the air, the light, the calm... The little things that were never so dear to him as they were now.

She walked quietly to sit beside him, wrapping her arms around the crook of his elbow and leaning close. No one shared the same bond as they did. Not Nolan, not his mother. No one could sit in silence as they did and speak more words with the heart than with any physical voice. It would never change; not in the last few days they had left.

She worried sometimes that she would feel lost without this communication. It wasn't the same with Nolan, her husband. Although their hearts spoke in their own way, it was not the same language as the one she shared with Madding, her dear, dear friend. But she knew that was selfish, so she stifled the thought and sat there quietly, head leaning against his.

"Demi," he whispered. "There is one thing I would ask of you..."

"What is it, Mads?" Demi asked, her heart, already heavy, sinking to the pits of her stomach.

"When I die, will you... cry for me?" A tear trickled down his cheek as he murmured the words.

Unable to console him about his own death, she answered, "I will cry for you even now." And she did so as she laid her head on his shoulder.

He smiled sadly, feeling selfish but comforted, and closed his eyes.