Ghosts cover the sky like a large, grey sheet with the sun trying so hard to shine thought that it's breaking into a sweat. Bus doors open, feet appear on the black wet pavement. A woman appears, the doors close and the bus is gone in an instant. It's been a very long time since Alaska has seen the graveyard. With each step she takes memories shoot her mind like a bullet shooting through her head. The air is clear, quite. Alaska clears her throat, raises her head and keeps walking with her chin held high. She walks up to a white marble colored gravestone, kneels down and kissed the ground. The engraving read:
                                                                               Ashton Thomas
                                                                 January 1990 - September 2013
                                                             A beloved soul mate, son, and father.
     Her eyes were closed, soaked in her own tears. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a wrinkled small piece of paper. She unfolded the paper while shutters ran through her body. Finally, the paper was opened and slowly fell to the ground. Instead of picking it back up, Alaska brought her head down to the ground and read the paper. She skimmed it once, and then twice, raised her head, and then her body also bringing herself to her feet. She cleared her throat, and then spoke with confidence:
                                                            Hello there soul mate of mine;
                                                            Are you missing me now?

                                                            Hello there veteran;
                                                            Did your honor let you down?

                                                            From your head
                                                            To your toes;
                                                            Covered in clothes.
                                                            With your gun in your hands,
                                                            and the helmet on your head.

                                                           Did they put you in the right bed?
                                                           The bed you stay in for the rest of eternity,
                                                           Covered in dirt and dampness
                                                           The bed of death.

                                                           So here I am, forgiving you.
                                                           Leaving you.
                                                           Forgetting you.
                                                           Until the day, I join you.

       And then she turned around. Wiped away the wetness from her eyes. She felt new, as though something had risen from her. The weight of the world is no longer there. The grey clouds in the sky soon disappeared and the sun was shinning through. Alaska walked out of the cemetery proud that day.