Where did the year go. (Open)

It has been a year since Julie walked the rows of graves to locate her parent's she missed them terribly but was doing better now that she had made a friend when she finally reached their grave site she knelt on the ground and began to play with the dirt a little.

A tear started to form in her eye as she thought about all the fun times that she has had with them and the things that she had wanted to do with them. She did not like being parentless in a world where people go after the weak.

From behind some trees and cloaked in black, Caedus watched as the blond woman and her little daughter placed flowers on the gravestone ahead. It was somewhat bittersweet to see Lydia alive here but she wasn't his Lydia whatsoever, no matter how uncanny the resemblance and the genetic makeup. With his alternative self as an Anglican priest and this alternative version of his late wife living a different life without any knowledge to the existence of the magical world, Caedus felt sad for a moment but somewhat glad at the same time. Knowing that they were living their own lives of happiness was enough for him to accept the differences in a world that he was a stranger in.

Watching as Lydia and her daughter depart from the cemetery, Caedus exhaled before walking down the path towards the gravestone to see that it was one belonging to her parents. Conjuring lilacs, he slowly added them to the bouquet that Lydia left behind before standing up to leave.

As he walked the opposite path towards the forest entrance of the cemetery, Caedus noticed a young girl kneeling in front of a gravestone. It was odd seeing someone like her all alone here.

"Miss, are you alright?" Caedus inquired.

Staring at her parent's grave Julie just wanted to curl up on top of it and fall into a deep sleep. However she heard a voice behind her so she turned around to see who it was.

Realizing that he was asking her if she was alright. "Yeah I am alright just visiting my parents' grave." She knew that it would lead to a string of questions but it was alright she also thought that he might think that it was strange for her to be all by herself but she was not going to go to her aunt and ask her to join her as she vists the grave of Her parents.

Hearing the girl's response, Caedus merely nodded. So the girl was visiting her parents' grave. That certainly was a heavy burden for any child to bear although it looked like the girl was made of stronger stuff.

"I see and sorry to hear. I seemed not long ago that I also was in the same predicament as you are." Caedus spoke before looking at the gravestone for a moment. "Time can mend but loved ones are never forgotten."

Julie looked up at him he seemed to understand. Tears were running down her cheeks she missed them terribly and wished that they were still around to hug her but they were not and she just had to accept that.

"I hope your right, today they will have been dead for one year. I cannot believe it nor do I want to." She said while she wiped her tears away she did not want to seem like alittle girl even though she was one.

Caedus nodded softly, thinking back about Lydia and Jim. The images of his dead wife and son, both of them cold and rigid when he tried to wake them up while not wanting to believe that they were dead. The denial that precipitated a false hope obscured reality, which hit him in the face at full force when realization dawned on him. Optimism had its limits and facts were concrete enough to avoid contradiction. Even now, the void in his heart lingered in their memory.

"So do all that have experienced the loss of those close to them." Caedus spoke. "Mourning while coming to terms with the tragedy endured. It's hard to find closure. Even so, they do what they can to live life to the very best that they can."

Julie was not sure if she should mention that she was actually one of the reasons for her parents' death she did not know how well he could be trusted.

"I blame myself for their deaths each passing day. Plus my aunt who I am staying with at the moment also blames me." She was starting to ramble about things that really did not matter but she did not care she had realized that she felt better when she let out her feelings in words. She had held them in for far to long and only had told two people about the truth behind the death of her parents but she knew that she could trust them.

"Do you truly believe that you are at fault and that you could have done something to avert it?" Caedus asked. In his opinion, if she was really guilty, then what was the point of visiting their graves? Perhaps if it was to apologize and ask for forgiveness or to make amends. Caedus didn't really know what the whole story was although he did recognize the feeling of self-guilt.

"My wife and son were murdered by a gang of bandits years ago and I blamed myself for not being vigilant to those threats even though we never had or even made enemies." Caedus spoke once more in a grave tone that reflected the haunting emotions of the tragedy that had befallen him long ago. "For a long time, such guilt chained me with the insult that my best efforts to protect them weren't enough. I guess I had my own limits and circumstances beyond one's control can happen."