Prologue
It was a wet and dreary October afternoon in Sligo, Ireland. The rain softly fell on the crowd sitting in the grassy field as the clouds hid the hopes of sun breaking through the gloom. She sat motionless listening to the Priest give words of comfort as she gently held Bailey's hand trying to hold back the tears that had already come since three days ago. Her mind was in a fog of the past events, her future blurry from the urgency and her heart weak from the blow of disaster. She stared at the casket that was before her, hoping that this was all a movie and she was the lead actress waiting for the director to yell, "cut". It took all of her strength to sit there and not rush up to the casket and throw it open. She wanted to hold on to the only life she knew, the only life she wanted, the only life she needed. Bailey innocently looked at her tear stained green eyes that was hid by the black veil as he squeezed his mother's hand. She returned the tiny squeeze and regained her strength for her son.
Briana squeezed Mark's hand to give him comfort but he gave no response to his girlfriend as he watched Sidney from the corner of his eye, wanting to reach out to her, hold her and take away the pain she was feeling. He wanted to hear her laughter as he had done just a week prior. He wanted to hear the excitement she had with sharing the new adventures of Bailey as he experienced life. He wanted to hear the love she had in her voice every time she mentioned Michael's name, the love that gave her life. But all he could do was to support his friend, silently loving her.
A soft weep was heard from Shane as he sat next to Mark, feeling the same pain. Andrea reached for his hand as they both sat in the somber of the event. Kian sat next to Shane and Andrea; no emotion, no tears, no pain. It had not become real to him, he was still in daze from hearing the news. Kelli tried to comfort Kian but he sat strong in the hopes of the day ending soon and he would once again hear the wisdom of Michael that he relied on for years. The three musketeer's sat in the loss of their comrade, best friend, brother and fourth musketeer. Each one taking the task of comforting the widow seriously, but how could they when they felt the loss just as much. How do you help another when all you wanted to do was to scream that life wasn't fair, bad things should not happen to good people.
"Go mbeannai Dia duit." The Priest said as he blessed Sidney's forehead with holy water.
"Dia do bheatha." The Priest said as he blessed Bailey with the holy water. He ended the service with a prayer as Sidney sat quietly, not wanting to leave. If she left, it would mean that the past three days was not a dream. If she could only hold on to what she had left, maybe she would wake up and find Michael standing next to her and giving her the smile that she fell in love with. One by one, her family and friends hugged her in comfort but all she wanted to do was run away, run away and find yesterday. She wanted to turn back time, to find the time when she could smile again. But she forced a smile at the comfort she was getting and returned the hugs.
"Hey, big B." Kian said as he greeted Bailey who was hiding behind his mother's leg. Kian gave Bailey one of his gentle smiles as the tiny ball of energy ran to Kian as he scooped up the lad. Kian held Bailey tight in his arms, as he hugged Sidney. Shane followed suit behind Kian as he lingered in the hug with Sidney.
"It was a beautiful service." Shane said, it was all he could say.
"Thank you Shane." Sidney said as she pulled away from him. She could see so much pain in his eyes, it brought her some comfort in knowing the same pain. Mark stood behind Shane and Kian as he listened to their conversation. He didn't know how to make Sidney feel better, he didn't know how to take away the pain. All he wanted was the laughter and happiness that was five years just prior. He wanted the thrill and excitement of London to replay and hold on to the innocence of it. But even in that innocence, there was still heartache. The heartache that would never be known....