HL50 Prompt - New Page
Summary: A friend recollects his last day with Richie.
June 20th 1997
It’s been almost a month since I last saw Richie alive, but now I feel I’m able to write it down here.
We strolled through the park, and to the casual observer we were just three friends enjoying the Paris sunshine. In reality, we were discussing the mental health of the Highlander. We were all concerned, but Richie had different reasons than us two.
Richie was almost convinced that Mac was telling the truth and we couldn’t help a little gentle ribbing. We were both far more sceptical about the situation. It made far more sense that he was losing his mind than he was being targeted by a demon.
If only we had been more open minded, perhaps…But no, it’s senseless to think of what might have been, whether I believed in the existence of Ahriman or not would not have prevented Duncan or Richie going to that racetrack.
You can’t alter the past and you can’t second guess your actions. Even the best of us make mistakes occasionally, just ask Duncan.
That was unfair. I still don’t know if Ahriman is real or if Duncan really has lost it, but he is responsible for killing his student and, knowing him, the Highlander will be currently brooding somewhere, allowing his grief and guilt to overwhelm him.
I was actually surprised by the strength of my own reaction. I guess I liked the Brat more than I realised. The world will be a quieter and greyer place without him. We buried him in a Paris cemetery, it didn’t seem right to send him home. I never thought I’d say this, but I’m really going to miss him.
He leaned forward, allowing a single tear to fall onto the page, smudging the ink, before he wiped the rest away. Now he was alone, he could allow himself to grieve. The Brat was becoming a fine young man, and he mourned all the things that would go undone, all the words that would go unsaid. Methos sighed, and turned to a new page in his journal.