The Unseen Series: One Last Conversation-G
She had wanted to tell Jeremy to head to the graveyard last night, but she had thought better of it. The night had taken a turn she never would have expected. Out of everything that happened, even Elena being magically connected to Katherine, what affected her most was meeting someone who was related to her. She had needed to mull everything over.
As the leaves broke under her feet, Bonnie replayed the event in her mind for what was probably the 1,000th time. Now that she had lived it, it seemed to go buy so fast in her memory. It had not in fact ended with grams. She still had family out there. She turned left to where she knew her grandmother’s headstone lay. Her steps became slower the closer she got. Her fingers flexed around the blue Forget Me Nots in her hands. This is the first time she has visited. She had never stopped thinking about her, but the fact that her life kept making one harsh turn after another had kept her away. A little smile graced her face when she stood in front of the flat granite headstone. She kneeled and placed her palm on it.
Here lies Sheila Bennett, Beloved Mother-in-Law and Grandmother.
She had wanted to tell her father to add something more at the time, but she had not been able to come up with anything. She let her hand slide off the headstone. She remembers how she had not been able to look as they had lowered the coffin. Her body had felt so hot despite the cold day. She brought the flowers to her nose and inhaled. The petals moved a little as her lips spread into a small smile.
“Hi, grams,” she said and lowered the flowers to her lap. “I know I’ve never visited, but…I had to after what happened last night,” she said with a small shake of her head. “First of all, Katherine’s in the tomb where she should have been in the first place.” She arranged herself so that she sat cross-legged on the ground. “Damon put her there, but I didn’t watch. I wasn’t actually interested,” she said quizzically.
Knowing that Katherine was in the tomb didn’t give her the same satisfaction as standing in front of that building, knowing those tomb vampires were burning alive. She mentally read the words on the gravestone. She knew her grandmother was not truly in there. Her spirit was in another world, but she couldn’t very well stare off into space or look up in order to talk to her. The gravestone was a good proxy.
“But catching Katherine wasn’t the best part of the night. I met someone, a cousin. Her name is Lucy?” she said with a little frown as she wondered if her grandmother had ever met Lucy at any point in her lifetime. “She’s apparently the daughter of Joanna who is Pauline’s…cousin,” she said as she tried to work it out in her head. She had met Pauline once when she was 12 and knew she was her cousin. “I felt her before I met her, and it was so weird.”
The word she was looking for was ‘freaky.’ It had been the most disconcerting feeling. She had been talking to Jeremy when she all of a sudden felt something in her fill up. The closer she had gotten to it, the more it had threatened to paralyze her. When she had spoken to Lucy the first time, she had felt a most desperate need to stay right next to her.
She smiled sadly. “I always felt comfortable with you grams, but I always assumed it was because you were my grandmother, you know? I love…loved you. I didn’t realize it was magical.” As a matter of fact, she didn’t realize it at all. She had not been aware of her connection to her grandmother, not even when she had lost her, until she had felt Lucy.
“But apparently it was,” she said with a little laugh. Her expression turned somber as she said, “Lucy didn’t fix everything. She couldn’t stay. Which of course makes sense, because she has her own life. She wasn’t going to stay because of me,” she said sadly. “And dad is still…dad. His head is in the sand now more than ever. I won’t push him though,” she said resolutely. “If he doesn’t want to deal with this, then he doesn’t have to. I won’t make him. Because it’s apparently my job to be considerate,” she said bitterly.
She shook her head and closed her eyes in order to trample those emotions. The truth is she wasn’t sure if she wanted her dad to start acknowledging her magic. With Caroline being turned into a vampire, her father’s denial of her heritage was now the only reminder of her old life, however twisted that was. It was the only thing that had not changed.
Her eyes filled with tears as she mulled over her cruel situation. “I miss you so much, grams,” she choked, unable to hold back the tears. “I really hope you’re watching over me,” she said desperately, her throat closing. She laid the flowers on the ground and held her head between her hands as she started to cry, her shoulders shaking.
She didn’t cry for long. She sniffed and wiped away her tears. She picked up the flowers and smelled them again. She longed for the day she’d be able to summon her grandmother.
“I know it’s not going to happen if I keep feeling the way I feel, but I can’t help it. No rush though, right?” she said with a watery smile as she recalled the words, accompanied by a look, Sheila would say to her whenever she would try to hurry her through the recounting of her family history with requests to start practicing her magic.
She stayed quiet for a long time, remembering everything about her grandmother. Her beautiful face, her assured voice, even the stern manner with which she addressed her sometimes when she was close to being out of line. Bonnie smiled when she realized that there was no bitterness or anger attached to the memories. Emotions that she had felt because of the fact that she would never be able to add on to these memories. It was over. And she was scared. She had held on to the anger and sadness for so long. She now felt like a familiar blanket had been taken away from her. It was really now the story of her life. She did not know how to not miss her grandmother. How could she ever go a day without remembering her? It seemed impossible, but she felt it coming.
Tears welled in her eyes again, and she said, “I love you, grams. Very much.”
She rested the flowers on the gravestone, but she didn’t leave. She stayed and got lost in memories of her years with Sheila, alternating between crying, smiling, and, for the first time, laughing.
As the leaves broke under her feet, Bonnie replayed the event in her mind for what was probably the 1,000th time. Now that she had lived it, it seemed to go buy so fast in her memory. It had not in fact ended with grams. She still had family out there. She turned left to where she knew her grandmother’s headstone lay. Her steps became slower the closer she got. Her fingers flexed around the blue Forget Me Nots in her hands. This is the first time she has visited. She had never stopped thinking about her, but the fact that her life kept making one harsh turn after another had kept her away. A little smile graced her face when she stood in front of the flat granite headstone. She kneeled and placed her palm on it.
Here lies Sheila Bennett, Beloved Mother-in-Law and Grandmother.
She had wanted to tell her father to add something more at the time, but she had not been able to come up with anything. She let her hand slide off the headstone. She remembers how she had not been able to look as they had lowered the coffin. Her body had felt so hot despite the cold day. She brought the flowers to her nose and inhaled. The petals moved a little as her lips spread into a small smile.
“Hi, grams,” she said and lowered the flowers to her lap. “I know I’ve never visited, but…I had to after what happened last night,” she said with a small shake of her head. “First of all, Katherine’s in the tomb where she should have been in the first place.” She arranged herself so that she sat cross-legged on the ground. “Damon put her there, but I didn’t watch. I wasn’t actually interested,” she said quizzically.
Knowing that Katherine was in the tomb didn’t give her the same satisfaction as standing in front of that building, knowing those tomb vampires were burning alive. She mentally read the words on the gravestone. She knew her grandmother was not truly in there. Her spirit was in another world, but she couldn’t very well stare off into space or look up in order to talk to her. The gravestone was a good proxy.
“But catching Katherine wasn’t the best part of the night. I met someone, a cousin. Her name is Lucy?” she said with a little frown as she wondered if her grandmother had ever met Lucy at any point in her lifetime. “She’s apparently the daughter of Joanna who is Pauline’s…cousin,” she said as she tried to work it out in her head. She had met Pauline once when she was 12 and knew she was her cousin. “I felt her before I met her, and it was so weird.”
The word she was looking for was ‘freaky.’ It had been the most disconcerting feeling. She had been talking to Jeremy when she all of a sudden felt something in her fill up. The closer she had gotten to it, the more it had threatened to paralyze her. When she had spoken to Lucy the first time, she had felt a most desperate need to stay right next to her.
She smiled sadly. “I always felt comfortable with you grams, but I always assumed it was because you were my grandmother, you know? I love…loved you. I didn’t realize it was magical.” As a matter of fact, she didn’t realize it at all. She had not been aware of her connection to her grandmother, not even when she had lost her, until she had felt Lucy.
“But apparently it was,” she said with a little laugh. Her expression turned somber as she said, “Lucy didn’t fix everything. She couldn’t stay. Which of course makes sense, because she has her own life. She wasn’t going to stay because of me,” she said sadly. “And dad is still…dad. His head is in the sand now more than ever. I won’t push him though,” she said resolutely. “If he doesn’t want to deal with this, then he doesn’t have to. I won’t make him. Because it’s apparently my job to be considerate,” she said bitterly.
She shook her head and closed her eyes in order to trample those emotions. The truth is she wasn’t sure if she wanted her dad to start acknowledging her magic. With Caroline being turned into a vampire, her father’s denial of her heritage was now the only reminder of her old life, however twisted that was. It was the only thing that had not changed.
Her eyes filled with tears as she mulled over her cruel situation. “I miss you so much, grams,” she choked, unable to hold back the tears. “I really hope you’re watching over me,” she said desperately, her throat closing. She laid the flowers on the ground and held her head between her hands as she started to cry, her shoulders shaking.
She didn’t cry for long. She sniffed and wiped away her tears. She picked up the flowers and smelled them again. She longed for the day she’d be able to summon her grandmother.
“I know it’s not going to happen if I keep feeling the way I feel, but I can’t help it. No rush though, right?” she said with a watery smile as she recalled the words, accompanied by a look, Sheila would say to her whenever she would try to hurry her through the recounting of her family history with requests to start practicing her magic.
She stayed quiet for a long time, remembering everything about her grandmother. Her beautiful face, her assured voice, even the stern manner with which she addressed her sometimes when she was close to being out of line. Bonnie smiled when she realized that there was no bitterness or anger attached to the memories. Emotions that she had felt because of the fact that she would never be able to add on to these memories. It was over. And she was scared. She had held on to the anger and sadness for so long. She now felt like a familiar blanket had been taken away from her. It was really now the story of her life. She did not know how to not miss her grandmother. How could she ever go a day without remembering her? It seemed impossible, but she felt it coming.
Tears welled in her eyes again, and she said, “I love you, grams. Very much.”
She rested the flowers on the gravestone, but she didn’t leave. She stayed and got lost in memories of her years with Sheila, alternating between crying, smiling, and, for the first time, laughing.