With the death of everyone that’s ever really loved him, Ethan has gotten a little too comfortable at his local cemetery. So comfortable in fact, that while grave gazing one hot Florida evening, he doesn’t even notice the stranger watching him, or the falling tree that just might send him to his own grave.
De Leon isn’t new to the cemetery. He’s been burying family members there for centuries. Although he can’t help himself from saving the endearing man he’s had his eyes on for the last decade, he can certainly live without the questions that come after the rescue.
As Ethan wonders if he can ever move into the future, can De Leon help him find the answers as they navigate through the past?
“So what exactly are you? I mean, you just read my mind, you pulled me out from under that tree like a superhero. What it is about you that makes you so different than the average person? What exactly are you?”
“I’m someone who rescued you from a death that you were too oblivious to be aware of. I’m someone who actually cares about the people around him. That’s who I am. If you’re perceiving me as something out of the ordinary, it’s probably because you’re not used to being around people who give a damn. And your own mental state is not all that it could be right now. You’re perceiving things differently than you might normally.”
Ethan looked at the man, if that’s what he truly was, directly in the eye. “You’re gaslighting me because you don’t want to explain how you read my mind or moved faster than a train even with me in your arms.”
Ethan could see below the man’s game face. There was something else there. Fear? He was scared Ethan would share his secret.
“This isn’t about me. This is about you, and why you stood in the rain for two hours, and almost let a tree end your life.”
“I told you. I didn’t hear the tree until about the time I felt you pull me away.”
“Yes, but why you were standing in front of that grave for two hours? That wasn’t a freshly dug grave.”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means that the dirt there was settled. You’ve had time to grieve.”
“That grave, as you refer to it, belongs to my lover. He died ten years ago. So yes, the dirt is settled. That doesn’t mean that you don’t miss someone sometimes.”
“No, it doesn’t,” the man said, looking around the mausoleum.
Ethan looked around the room too. “I didn’t catch the name on this crypt.”
“De Leon,” the stranger said.
“Like the explorer?” Ethan asked.
“Just like him.”
“And this crypt, does it belong to your family?”
“It does.”
“And what should I call you?”
“De Leon is fine.”
“Then De Leon it is.”
“And what should I call you?”
Ethan, Ethan said in his mind.
“Then Ethan it is,” De Leon said, and then paused. He looked at Ethan hurt, betrayed.
“I’m not going to share your secret,” Ethan said. “I just needed to know. It explains a few things.”
De Leon was silent.
Ethan looked around at the sheer size of the room. “You’ve lost a lot of people.”
“It happens,” De Leon said.
“And how do you get past it?”
“You never quit feeling the loss. No matter how much you heal, there’s always a pain that lies back there with each person you truly love. I reach a point where the good outweighs the bad, where the joy outweighs the pain. It’s a point where I am glad that each person was in my life, but still on the wrong day, or when the wrong thing happens, the pain can still feel fresh.”
Ethan considered De Leon’s words, as they sat in silence for a moment.
“Is that what happened to you today?” De Leon asked.
Ethan stopped to consider it, and nodded.
“When he died, I felt cheated.”
