-+- My Imaginary -+- Part Ten -+-

We walked for what seemed like forever. I followed his silent footsteps through the suburbs, through parks, down pathways, and past the river. Slowly I saw the scenery change to low income apartments and houses with chipped paint and collapsing porches. I couldn't avoid the feeling of unease that settled over my skin, making it prickle into goosebumps as I followed Daniels silent footfalls down the road covered in potholes.

"Where are we going?" I asked again, for the twentieth time, but I knew it was useless. He would tell me nothing, he was barely even acknowledging me, other than glancing behind him ever so often to make sure I was still on his trail.

"Daniel, please. Are we almost there?" It was almost a whimper that came off my lips. My feet ached from the thousands of steps they'd taken over the hard pavement and my back was starting to sore along with them.

Shockingly, he responded this time. "Yes. Only a few more minutes and then you can sit down."

And then he was silent again.

I looked to the sky which was starting to cloud over. I could hear the faint rumble of thunder beginning in the background and I wondered how much longer I'd have to be outside.

Suddenly Daniel was slowing and walking beside me. I looked around, almost dazed and fairly confused and saw that we were nearing a dead end street empty except for a small white church perched on a hill at the very end. I cast a puzzled look in Daniel's direction and saw he was staring at me with sad eyes.

"I need to explain something to you," he said solemnly as we trudged on. "Your parents told you about what happened when you were a baby. The night they never talk about."

I nodded, becoming more and more bewildered with every word he spoke. "Yes.."

"Just remember that," was all he said to explain himself. Then he continued walking the few more steps to the church in silence. It loomed tall and white above us and when we got to the front steps I was surprised that Daniel didn't open the door and go inside. Instead, he stared at the stained glass windows for a few sad seconds before turning and walking around the side of the church. I followed, a frown in place on my forehead.

The rain started drizzling down like a light mist falling over my hair and clothing. I could see the tiny beads clinging to my t-shirt but did nothing to wipe them off. I followed Daniel as he walked through the graveyard, stepping lightly around the aged and newer gravestones. He led me to the farthest corner away from the church and swiftly stopped in front of a tall slender gravestone.

I closed the few steps between us and stood with him, casting him a nervous glance. Daniel smiled sadly at me and gestured to the grave but I had already pieced everything together and didn't need to read it to understand.

Still, I stood staring in disbelief at the words engraved on the polished stone before me:

Daniel Edward Mortimer
January 1970 May 1988
May his young soul find peace in Heaven.

I stared at it, reading it over and over again. For a few moments I felt giddy with relief that I wasn't a schizophrenic. But as quickly as it had appeared, the giddiness faded and I suddenly felt weak to the core of my very bones. I smiled stupidly at Daniel whose face held a worried expression.

"I'm not as crazy as everyone thought."

Then I felt my limbs give out and everything faded to black.
Eeeeeeeeeeep!
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