By JezT ([email protected])
Spoilers: Up to Graduation.
Summary: Sometime's we don't know what we have until it is gone.
Dedication: In memorium of Abby Morgan, we can't all graduate.
What was meant to be a summer of celebration had quickly turned into a season of mourning, they were supposed to be leaving school to go off to their future lives. Each of them happy, successful and going on to be the best that they could be, but then the tragedy had struck and now one of them was not going to be there to watch Joey make her speech on graduation day. It had been a simple walk, nothing that ought to have caused a problem, but then he had made the mistake of looking, watching another guy in a flattering glance. Checking out the scenery and now he was gone.
The students of Capeside sat all in black, friends and family around to say goodbye to their friend, new to their group in some ways but an old comrade in others. They were all in sombre black for the occasion, there to commemorate a guy that they had barely known.
A lone figure stood at the front of the church and began to speak.
"I would like to read a poem to you that sums up the person that we are here to remember. Some of you will be familiar with it, others of you may not know it, but I believe it to be the closest thing we have to a legacy." The man said, then began to read.
"Today
By Jack McPhee
Today.
Today was a day.
The world grew smaller, darker.
I grew more afraid.
Not of what I am but of what I could be.
I loosen my collar to take a breath.
My eyes fade.
And I see... Him.
The image of perfection.
His frame strong.
His lips smooth.
And I keep thinking.
What am I so scared of?
I wish I could escape the pain,
but these thoughts invade my head.
Bound to my memory,
they're like shackles of guilt.
Oh God, please set me free
from this prison of isolation.
And let me love.
And let me be."
The people in the audience, some crying and others aghast at the words were driven to silence, whether from their understanding or pity the reader was not sure, but he continued to talk anyway.
"The man in the coffin today was killed by two youths who took offence about the way he acted, they were not going to be understanding of him, nor were they accepting. All I can say is that Today is a day, a day when the world has grown smaller and darker because Jack McPhee is no longer in it. All I hope is that now he is free, free to be the strong and beautiful person that he was to those of us that truly knew him. That took the chance to know him as more than a gay man. Jack was an Angel, an image of perfection and I hope that you, like me, see that in him. I love you Jack."
The figure stopped, his voice breaking as he stepped down from the lecturn and walked toward the pew where Jen sat. He hobbled a little, but the doctors had told him that was to be expected. Tobey walked what seemed to be forever before he sat down and allowed the tears to flow in earnest. It was the greatest testament to love that Jack had died for him, but now his life was emptier for it and as the reverend began to speak Tobey sobbed silently for the love that he once had. He clasped the poem in his hand and stared at the words, hoping that he would one day soon be free of his own prison of isolation, the one without Jack. His sobs were the only thing that blocked out the words of the priest...
"...And the bible says...'Greater love has no man than this, that he would lay his life down for a friend..."
The End