On grief remembered, and words that outlive their speaker

27:1

Christopher did not wake again.

27:2

His breath remained,

but his eyes did not open.

27:3

We waited.

27:4

It was then that Myriam's mother spoke.

27:5

She had lived long with grief,

and knew its shape.

27:6

She said,

"When my husband died,

I thought the world had ended."

27:7

"But it did not."

27:8

"He lived on in his children."

27:9

"And later, in his words."

27:10

She looked at me then.

27:11

"And through him," she said,

"I lived on as well."

27:12

"For those who remember you,

carry you."

27:13

She continued,

"Christopher will be remembered

by those who read what he inspired."

27:14

"And by those who were shaped by him

without knowing his name."

27:15

She said,

"Because of that,

he will never truly die."

27:16

Then she paused.

27:17

"And yet," she said softly,

"he will gladly stop living

in the minds of his followers."

27:18

"For he never sought to remain."

27:19

"He will take his place with God."

27:20

"And leave us with ourselves."

27:21

She ended by saying,

"But that was then."

27:22

"And this," she said,

"is now."

27:23

Christopher breathed once more.

27:24

And we did not know

which world he still belonged to.