HER SWORD, HIS BATTLE: FINALE

IN THOSE WORDS HE COMPREHENDED THE EXTENT OF HIS PLIGHT ON EVERY POSSIBLE LEVEL.  IT UNMERCIFULLY STRIPPED HIM OF HIS VERY SOUL AND HIS HUMANITY.  the light inside him, good and bad, was now off.  forced to wonder in eternal darkness.  how could he ever live with himself.  no longer in denial of annihilating a creature so pure and immacualte, he flew into a rage and ran, just as he had always done. craving to be united again for ever.  trying to leave himself behind, with her, in the attempt to flee he saw an elderly man dressed in black and before he had the chance to hide, the old man called out to him and made his way towards him. the sight of seeing an individual that lost caused him to speak. "if your running away from someone, i garauntee they wont hurt you here". "this is a place where loved ones meet again, children play forever, and no nightmares exist.  complete and total bliss" the old man placed his hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. emptiness, pain, but not hopelessness.  he knew the young mans  plight and explained to him that whatever drove him to this place was the verything that would save him and running will never solve his problems.  he conintued to embrace him.  "my wife and i were married 60 years until the day she passed and she remained completely devoted to me, for whatever reason dispite my ways. i lost everything we built and she remained loyal. i ran our children away with my drinking and steady stream of violence and abuse, and yet she remained loyal. she was forced to turn to our friends, family and neighbors when i would come home with every dime i made gone. while i danced and drank she was dying right before my eyes, and it wasnt until i came home and saw her lying helplessly on the floor that i realized how much she really meant to me.  i rushed her to the hospital and when she was able to speak the first thing she said was "im sorry".  i had no idea why she said it at the time and i couldnt completely wrap my head around it at the time.  a week later she was gone forever.  i held myself together making her burial arrangements, attending her wake and her funeral, but when i got home and felt her presence missing from my life, i wished i could have given her more than what she got. to this day, i cant bring myself to sleep in our bed at night, her photos haunting me as a constant reminder, just like the smile in each and everyone one of her pictures dwindled in the passing years, i felt myself fading. i decided to drink my pain away and spent the night wallowing in my own guilt and filth, she stole my heart without me ever knowing.  i left the bar drunk and when i started my car, our wedding song was being played and i remembered that day and how beautiful she looked.  she couldve chosen anyone but she chose a poor boy with nothing to offer her but dreams and empty, broken promises. it was then that i knew she was will be with me forever and forgave me." "ever since that day, i remember who she was and where she TOOK ME. she left her impression whether i knew it or not, and now that i do, i do all that i can to SHOW her, that although in life i wasnt the best person, that as she watches me, she can see how sorry i am, and hat maybe she will save me a seat next to her...or visit me in hell" there as a brief silence, and the old man, kissed him on the forhead and left him with these words, "hind sight is always 20/20, just be sure the look behind you and not let history repeat itself. she wanted you to be the man she knew you HAD THE POTENTIAL to become, nows your time to show her and seek forgiveness. she will give you a sign that she is with you, waiting on the other side." he wiped his tears and took a deep breath, taking in what was said to him, imagining if thats the life he wanted honestly would have wanted for her. it wasnt and he knew that she was forever bonded to him. just as he appeared, the old man was gone. he vanished before he could thank him, for opening his eyes but he was nowhere to be found.  making his way to the grave of the old mans wife, to see the woman that had endured it all, he couldnt believe his eyes...he saw that the wife was not alone in her grave...the old man had alson been dead.  their names shared on the head stone. a breeze blew by him and he felt a strange yet familiar feeling. as he walked away he was stopped by this force. his entire body was swallowed and he felt at ease and at peace.  he knew it was her.  she had given the ultimate sacrifice one could give to save him in the, herself. he looked down after the feeling had passed and saw engraved a nearby tree the words "LOVE WILL CONQUER ALL". WHEN THE WAR IS OVER, NO MATTER THE DETAILS OF ITS BEGINNING AND EVENTUAL END, ALL SURVIVORS WILL INEVITABLE BURY THEIR DEAD. EVERYTHING WE DO TODAY, REGARDLESS OF THE REASON, THE ACTIONS WILL ECHO THROUGHOUT, YOU WILL HEAR YOUR OWN VOICE AND LISTEN TO IT. HOW IT SOUNDS TO YOU AND MAKES YOU FEEL, IS HOW IT SOUNDS TO THE REST OF THE WORLD.