| The afternoon of Prue�s funeral was bright and sunny. The family piled into the stretch limo, with the Roswell gang following in their cars. As the limo passed Golden Gate Park on the way to the church Maria looked out the window to see children laughing and playing. Her eyes welled up with tears as she watched the happy siblings rolling and playing. Michael sat next to Maria, his arm around her shoulders. She still refused to speak to anyone, and his worry was increasing. It had been almost four days since she had last acknowledged anyone. Even Liz couldn�t get her to speak. They had all spent time trying to bring Maria out of her dark place. Even Max had gone as far as to try and heal whatever was wrong. But her problem was physical. She was keeping herself in hiding, and they would have to wait until she was ready to face the world again. Michael had continued to stay with her at night, and was the only person who knew how she clung to him in the late hours. All throughout the night he would just hold her and whisper soothing words, until sleep overtook his body. But every morning, when he awoke, she was back to her side of the bed with her back facing him. When he would reach for her she would shy away, tightening up into a smaller ball. Getting Maria ready for the funeral had been very simple. The morning of the service Michael had come back upstairs from breakfast to find Maria already up and dressed, sitting on the edge of the bed. He had thought she had made a breakthrough, but when he sat next to her and wrapped her in his arms, she still showed no sign of acknowledgment. Her arms stayed at her side as he rocked her back and forth. When Phoebe came in and saw Maria already dressed her face lit up, until she saw Michaels�s look. The felt the coldness return to her body, knowing they still hadn�t gotten their baby sister back. She was starting to believe that they never would. Although she would never voice to her concern to anyone, for they all strongly believed that Maria would snap out of it. Besides Michael, Cole was taking Maria�s self induced solitude the worst. He had done everything in his power to protect Maria, and she still got hurt. The past evening when he was sitting with Maria he kept yelling at her. He had tried to control his anger at the situation, but seeing his little pixie laying so lifeless the feelings came pouring to the surface. After all his ranting and raving he noticed that Maria had tears in her eyes, and the anger left his body as quickly as it had come. He could do nothing more but hold her and rock her as she cried. Phoebe and Piper both watched Maria the entire way to the church. They could see her body leaning away from Michael, but his arm anchored around her shoulders kept her close. Neither had the heart to tell him maybe she needed space, for they knew that he needed her as much as they knew she needed him. When they arrived at the service the family was led to the front of the church. The hall was packed with Prue�s friends and co-workers. Piper was glad for the turnout; she knew how much her sister would be missed by the whole world. They sat as numerous people stood to tell memories and stories, some sad some happy. After the service the family lined up at the door to thank everyone for coming. Phoebe was shaking hands when a girl stopped in front of her. Phoebe had never seen her before, but she seemed familiar anyway. �Thank you for coming,� she said. �What�s your name?� The girl waited a few seconds before answering. �I�m really sorry for your loss. My name is Paige Matthews.� She said shaking Phoebe�s hand. �Oh, how did you know my sister?� �I didn�t really know her. I met her once. I really must go,� Paige whispered before walking quickly out of the church. Phoebe watched as the girl ran off. If her mind hadn�t been so cramped with other things she might have considered the encounter odd and followed her. But at the moment she just didn�t this it was a good time. TBC |
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