Free Talisman 2 - The Sapphire Talisman by Brenda Pandos

stewing in aggravation. I loathed that the situation brought out the worst in both of us. Unable to gain a hold of my own emotions, let alone block his, I opened the door and got out. My legs went into autopilot as I stumbled forward through the trees. The path led down into a ravine with a creek. I traversed over the smooth boulders and headed for the meadow. Wild flowers of every color covered the field and I stopped, unsure where to go.
    Nicholas appeared silently behind me; the heat of his body radiating outward mixed with his remorse. His hand slid gently along my arm to rest on the outside of my wrist; his nose nuzzled my hair.
    “Sorry,” he whispered in my ear.
    I leaned into his chest. “I’m sorry too.”
    His hand hooked around my waist and brought me toward him. With gentle eyes, his gaze swept over my face. He kissed my forehead and I felt his love heal the gaping hole where the memories had poured out. In his other hand was the bouquet of gerbera daisies.
    We walked, hand in hand, through the flowers for a ways before Nicholas stopped at a spot that looked unremarkable to me, but by the distraught look on his face I knew this had to be the place—my mother’s unmarked grave. My hands shook as I slowly knelt down, placed both palms on the ground, wishing I could feel her one last time.
    “Mom,” I whispered. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.” I tried to go on, to tell her all the things I’d been holding in for so long, but I knew that whatever I said would send Nicholas into a pit of despair—he already carried around enough unnecessary guilt. Instead, I spoke my wishes internally.
    “Mom, I’m sorry I wasn’t able to come sooner. If you’re watching me, then I guess you know why. It’s been horrible that there’s never been a place to visit you—a place where I can be with you. Being here now fills the longing I’ve had since ‘he’ took you from us. I’ve missed you so much.
    “Nicholas carries a lot of guilt for your death. He thinks it’s his fault that he didn’t arrive in time to save you from the . . . well, you know. It’s been really hard on him . . . on us. But in the end, he’s given me the best gift which is himself and a piece of you. And now that I know where your resting place is, I can visit more often.
    “Nicholas has been watching over me all these years since you’ve been gone. I feel like I’ve had a guardian angel protecting me, but he’s so much more than that, Mom. He’s like my other half—the half that I didn’t know I’d been missing until I met him. It’s strange how fate has a way of turning your life around in crazy and unexpected ways.
    “To think that you and Nicholas had become friends right before you were killed. At least something good happened because of it. Your short friendship led Nicholas to me. And this all brought my destiny to light too. I promise, Mom, I’m going to do whatever I can to make this right. To stop ‘them’ from ever ruining another family again. To put an end to the heartache we’ve needlessly felt.
    “So thank you, for sacrificing yourself in an attempt to save me, and for bringing Nicholas into my life. I love you. We all love you. I hope you know that.”
    A cool breeze whipped around my hair and tickled my face. Somehow I knew she heard me and felt at peace. Nicholas sensed I was finished and laid the flowers on the top of the grassy mound of dirt. I kept a buffer between us so I could focus on my own grief.
    “Your mom liked flowers,” he said with a scratchy voice.
    I looked up into his stricken face and noticed a tear falling down his cheek. Since my dad never spoke of Mom, there were so few things I knew of her. Especially her likes and dislikes. I studied the bouquet and then the cornucopia of varieties draped across the meadow.
    “I wanted to be sure she’d always have them around her to enjoy.”
    “Thank you,” I whispered.
    He nodded and turned, casually wiping his face with the