by Woods, Karen
They all walked from the graveside and Misty said goodbye to Gordon’s parent. Just before she entered the car park, she heard a voice shouting her name and turned round to see who it was. Francesca dipped her head as she quickened her pace towards Misty and passed her the large brown envelope as Misty stood in surprise.
“What’s this for?” she asked in a concerned voice. Francesca took a deep breath and put her cards on the table. It had killed her inside to say the words she was about to speak but she knew she would never get the chance again.
“Misty these are letters that Gordon wrote to you while he was in prison. He never posted them to you but I think this will help you put closure on many things in your life. He always loved you and I was a fool to even think he could ever love me. Take care, Misty and I’m so sorry for the way everything turned out. I hope one day you might be able to forgive me. I lost a true friend Misty when I lost you, and nobody will ever step up to that mark again.” Misty took the letters from her with a shaking hand as Francesca watched her thinking she was going to faint. Her heart danced around in her chest as she sat on an old wooden bench just at the side of her. Francesca sat at her side as she slowly opened a letter.
The words Gordon wrote inside brought tears to her eyes, and the black mascara she wore formed into black tears dripping from her eyes. His words were soft in the letter and she felt she could hear him saying the words inside her head to her. Tears dripped onto the letter as Francesca placed her arms round her neck as she carried on reading.
The man she once loved with all her heart had finally opened up and told her how he felt inside. Her lips shook as she read each word. She always knew he had a heart. It was such a shame he’d pretended he was this big hard man to the rest of the world. Things could have been so different between them in the past if he would have only changed.
Misty wiped her eyes and all the mascara was smudged all around her eyes. She placed her head onto her knees and sighed loudly as Francesca cried at the side of her. Lifting her head, she began to speak with a shaking voice.
“Mad innit. I think he loved us both in his own way didn’t he? Thanks for giving me these letters; it must have been hard for you. Both our lives have changed so much since we were younger. We both made mistakes didn’t we?” Francesca nodded and cried as if years of torment had been released.
“Misty, I can’t find any words at the moment. My heart is broke into a thousand pieces, but your forgiveness means more to me than anything in this whole word. Gordon loved you from day one, and I spoilt something that could have been so special. I’ll have to live with that for the rest of my life and that’s probably my punishment for betraying you. You’ve found happiness with Dominic now and I wish you all the luck in the world”. The moment that passed was heart wrenching. Both Francesca and Misty stood up and held each other tightly. Somehow, after all that had happened, they still cared about each other and both had suffered at the hands of Gordon.
Dominic could be heard shouting in the distance and Misty shouted back to tell him she would be there in a minute. Francesca kissed her on the cheek and squeezed her one last time before she left her side.
Misty stood alone for a few seconds, and gasped for breath. This was what she needed. At last she had closure from her past. She folded the letters carefully and placed them into her large black leather handbag.
As one door had shut, another one had opened and she knew that her life was for living and from that day forward, she was going to live life to the full and have no more regrets. Goodbye Gordon, goodbye past she whispered as she went to join Dominic in the car.
Tom remained at the graveside once everyone had left. His words were hard to find but as he fell at the side of where his brother lay, his words struggled to come out.
“Ar kid, please forgive me. I loved you brother but you destroyed everything I had. I’ll have to live each day with what I’ve done and I know your blood will always be on my hands. Please try and forgive me Gordon I did it for all the right reasons.”
Tom pulled the hood over his head and shook as he walked away and still feeling the presence of Gordon by his side. Life was going to be hard for Tom from this day on but somehow and some way you could tell he would find happiness, and start to live his life once again without the shadow of his brother’s death hanging over him. The police were still no nearer catching his killer, and the investigation were still pending by them, hoping they would find Gordon’s murderer, but Tom had been clever and covered his tracks well and destroyed all the evidence pointing to him.
He also knew Gordon’s blood still lived on in Misty’s child and Francesca’s and he felt a warmth round his heart, knowing a part of his brother still lived on in his children.