***Major Hankie Alert***

A mixture of emotions ran through Tyrone as he stood next to where “Lenora” lay. Most overwhelming was the continuous sorrow and emptiness he felt in the wake of his Lenora’s death. Half of him was missing, and he didn’t think he would ever recover from that.

There was also confusion, bewilderment, and much uncertainty. There was something very wrong with his “Lenora.” Is she really Lenora? Tyrone’s sixth sense buzzed insistently, igniting this question over and over within him.

“I don’t understand what is happening here,” Tyrone said to his sire. “I saw her die, felt her go. I held my Lenora as she took her final breath.” Closing his eyes against the sting of sorrow, he took a trembling breath.

“I know, son, but you know as well as I that there’s something odd about this entire thing. Lenora was warm afterward, and the sense of death was absent. Even here and now, you know something is off,” Deus reminded his son.

“Yes, but what? What are we missing? I have the strangest feeling that this is not my Lenora. She’s different. Even laid out like this, she’s different.” Tyrone paced restlessly for a moment, then came to rest beside the casket. “I’m officially certifiable! I want my Lenora back so badly that I’m conjuring mental scenarios that give me hope she’ll return to me. I studied psychology, Dad. I know the signs of grief, and believe me, I am far, far from the acceptance stage.”

“Perhaps there is a reason for it, son. You’re allowed to go off the rails a bit considering the circumstances, but you are not crazy. You have a sixth sense that is yammering at you, and there’s likely a very good reason for it. My sixth sense is zinging, too. None of this is sitting well with me, either,” Deus replied, putting a calming hand on his son’s arm.

“What the hell are we going to do, Dad?”

Deus heaved a contemplative sigh. “What do you want to do, Tyrone? This is your call, after all. We can put a halt to this, investigate further, then commence with Lenora’s burial once we have some concrete answers if you feel it’s necessary.”

Tyrone’s first inclination was to jump at this and cling to this plan of action for all he was worth. Common sense and decorum won out instead, and Tyrone hugged himself as fresh ripples of sorrow sank deeper within his fractured soul. “Postponing this won’t change anything. We’d only be putting off the inevitable, which would cause us all more suffering. None of it will bring my Lenora back.” His heart twisted, a sob wrenching loose. “Please don’t say anything to the others. They’ve suffered enough already, and I don’t want to add more to it.”

“All right, son,” Deus replied in a soft but troubled voice as he and Tyrone stepped aside to give Landon his time with “Lenora.”

Landon sobbed unashamedly as he stood over his “mother.” “Oh, Ma, it wasn’t supposed to be this way! I lost Dad and now you’re gone, too. How could this have happened?” He caressed her fingers like the angel Lenora always said he was. “Who’s the angel now, Ma? You always called me your angel sent from Heaven. Now, you’re the angel in Heaven. Oh, Ma, I miss you so much!”

Landon leaned over to touch the soft hair he loved so dearly. “If I could bring you back with words of love, you’d be standing here and smiling. I’d be hugging you, and you’d hear me tell you I love you. There was never a day that went by when we didn’t say it.” He gave her a loving kiss on her brow. “I love you, Ma.”

Landon felt Crystal beside him and turned to fall into her arms. He sobbed helplessly as her arms came tightly around him. “I know, darling. This is such a sorrowful thing and so disgusting that it’s Lenora lying there. It’s so unfair.” She rubbed his back as tears streamed down her cheeks. “She was compassion itself, you know. It was clear in the beautiful, strong aura she projected. I knew how beautiful inside and out she was the first time I met her.”

“Oh, Thumbelina, what are we going to do?” Landon sobbed inconsolably.

“We’ll have to take each day as it comes, sweetheart. Lenora would want that. We’ll have to wing it.” She gulped, knowing how that must have sounded. “Oh man! No pun intended. Geez! I stuck my foot in it that time.”

Landon gave a watery little laugh through his tears and tried to muster a grin. “Couldn’t you just hear Ma chuckling over that one? Wing it? Fairy? You know.”

Crystal snorted softly and kissed her husband’s cheek. “Yeah. Lenora had the most beautiful laugh, like music.”

“She always has,” Landon sighed. “She loved to laugh and make others laugh.” He straightened up, then bent over “Lenora” again. “I hope you’re laughing in Heaven now, Ma. Nothing will hurt you again. Give Dad a hug for me and tell him…tell him I love him and miss him, okay? Will you do that for me?” He touched her hand one final time, then saw Tyrone come to his other side.

For several long moments, both men stood in silence, each one lost in his own memories and grief. Finally, Landon spoke, his voice a choked whisper. “She looks so beautiful…so peaceful. If only it could be like Sleeping Beauty where she’d revive if you kissed her. She told me that was her favorite fairy tale growing up.”

“Ah, Landon, if I thought it would help, I’d give her as many kisses as I could to make her wake up.” Tyrone rested his hand over his “Lenora’s” before tenderly caressing her fingers. “Are you going to be okay?”

“I have to be, I reckon. Ma would kick my ass to Kingdom Come otherwise.” Landon smiled weakly and stroked a hand over “Lenora’s” golden hair. “She’d want us to remember the fun times and laugh, and that’s what I’m going to try to do. It’s the only way I can possibly get through the day and sing for Ma without totally losing it.”

“Yeah, same here,” Tyrone replied.

“Is Aurora sitll going to sing?” Landon asked in concern. “It’s going to be tough for all of us singing today to pull off. Aurora took Ma’s death hard…and she’s so young.”

“She’s tougher than you realize, son,” Tyrone said. “She insists she wants to do it, and I won’t discourage her.”

When Crystal escorted both sets of quads to look at “Lenora,” Landon hugged each child in a long, tight embrace. Aurora fell into her brother’s arms and held him as tightly as her little arms would allow. “I heard what you told Da, and I can feel you worrying about me. You need to quit on it though. I’m okay, and I need to sing for Ma, too.”

“Okay, sis. I just love you so much is all. You’re an awful lot like her,” Landon said.

“That’s what Da said. I-I want to be like her and make her proud.” Aurora felt tears well up, but she furiously blinked them back. She couldn’t cry, not yet. She had a job to do first.

“Do you want to see her?” Landon asked softly.

Aurora nodded slowly and allowed Landon to lift her. “She looks so beautiful,” Aurora whispered, reaching out a tiny hand to caress “Lenora’s” fingers. “She’s so cold!”

“Darling, she feels that way because her body temperature is the same as the room here. It’s much cooler than what a live person’s body temperature is,” Tyrone explained. “Remember how we talked about that?”

“It…it just didn’t seem real…until now.” A single tear fell onto “Lenora’s” cheek, which Aurora dashed away with a tender touch. “I love you, Ma, and I miss you. You’re the best Ma ever.”

She and the others made little cards that they all tucked in beside “Lenora.” “This is so you won’t forget us, Grams,” Albus said through his tears.

As Landon and Crystal were about to take the children to their seats to wait for the service to begin, Aurora hugged her big brother again. “I need to tell you something.”

“What is it, sis?”

“I…I had a vision this morning. And when I touched Ma’s hand just a minute ago, I had it again. I saw her come back,” Aurora whispered. “I don’t want to tell Da because it’ll make him sadder than he already is.”

Landon blew out a long breath and kissed his sister. “Sweetie, I know you’ve got the same juice as Ma, and her visions were always spot on. But sis, I don’t see how Ma can come back. I won’t say it’s impossible, but…but I think she’s gone. She was awfully sick.”

“I know what it seems like, Landon, but I swear I saw her come back. She had on that dress she wore on her TV show. We were all sitting in the living room, and when Da opened the door, she came running toward us. That’s all there was, but I know it to be true. Ma will come back,” Aurora insisted. “Don’t believe me if you don’t want to, bu I know it’s true.”

Landon squeezed her tight and rubbed her back soothingly. “Hey, now! I didn’t say I didn’t believe you, Aurora. If you had a vision, it happened for a reason. Extraordinary things do happen. If Ma can somehow make it back to us, I’ll be the happiest person ever.”

“Me, too.”

“We’d better go sit down, sis. It’s about to start,” Landon said, gently taking his little sister by the hand and leading her to her seat.

Tyrone sat in his chair, consumed with grief, as his “Lenora’s” burial rites began. The dates of her birth and death were given, followed by the key points in her life. His soul shuddered with anguish as the officiant spoke of his marriage to Lenora and of the birth of their children. His Lenora’s life was so much more than what was spoken. His Lenora’s life simply couldn’t be adequately summarized in only a few sentences.

“Lenora loved life. She loved her family and friends, and she adored music,” the officiant continued. “She also loved telling stories, the evidence of that being the great number of books this talented woman wrote. Today, we celebrate the life of Lenora Margaret Catherine Landgraab with stories and music.”

Aurora, having asked to sing her song first, came to the front, her long, full dress swishing around her. “Our mother was the strongest, bravest, most courageous person I ever knew. I wanted to sing this song especially for her today because I want to be just like her. I want to be brave and loving just like her, and I want to make her proud.”

Deus, who was already seated at the piano, having played prelude music, struck a couple chords. Aurora took a deep breath and began singing in a strong voice, a voice that was more mature and developed beyond her youth.

“You shout it out
But I can’t hear a word you say
I’m talking loud not saying much
I’m criticized but all your bullets ricochet
You shoot me down, but I get up
I’m bulletproof nothing to lose
Fire away, fire away
Ricochet, you take your aim
Fire away, fire away
You shoot me down but I won’t fall, I am titanium
You shoot me down but I won’t fall
I am titanium…”

There wasn’t a dry eye in the place by the time Aurora finished and went back to her seat. “It was beautiful, Princess. Truly, it was. Your mother would be so proud,” Tyrone said, hugging his little daughter to his side.

“I hope so, Da,” Aurora choked out, unable to keep the tears at bay any longer. “She loved that song.”

Funny anecdotes and words of love for Lenora were spoken by many of the mourners who knew Lenora well. There was soft laughter among the tears, which slightly eased the cloud of sorrow above them. “Aunt Lenora always helped me with my homework. She was so smart,” little Carson said, addressing the mourners. “Aunt Lenora was always smiling, and she gave the best hugs.”

“Ma taught me to cook.” Chris said when it was his turn. “But I’d sample the finished stuff. When I did, Ma always shook her head, laughed, and said, ‘Whatever am I going to do with ye, Chris?'” Everyone chuckled at the story, some smiling mistily as he imitated his mother’s Irish brogue perfectly.

Tyrone, then, took his turn to sing for his “Lenora.” “I couldn’t decide which song to sing today. There were two that describe how I’m feeling today. I couldn’t pick, so I hope you’ll bear with me as I sing them both for my Lenora.”

He took a deep breath to steady both his spirit and his voice. “I always refer to her as my Lenora. I always have ever since she gave me her tender heart and accepted my marriage proposal. The thing is though, she wasn’t mine alone. You see, she belonged to all of us and we to her. Lenora gave everyone she came to care for so much of herself. She loved fiercely and deeply. Lenora was the kindest, most selfless and beautiful person I have ever known. I know I speak for all of us when I express that the loss of her leaves an unfillable void. The absence of her in this world dims and mutes the colors around us. Lenora brightened all our lives with her beautiful smile and loving spirit.”

Tyrone soon lost himself in the music as the introductory chords to To Where You Are began. His rich, powerful voice soon filled the room.

“Who can say for certain
Maybe you’re still here
I feel you all around me
Your memories so clear
Deep in the stillness
I can hear you speak
You’re still an inspiration
Can it be
That you are mine
Forever love
And you are watching over me from up above
Fly me up to where you are
Beyond the distant star
I wish upon tonight
To see you smile
If only for awhile to know you’re there
A breath away’s not far
To where you are…”

Tyrone, then, sang his second song.

“Love is a wind that cries
Drifting through the ashes of my memory
When I close my eyes, long ago is never far away from me
Through the door to yesterday and never more then a dream away
Inside my heart you still remain, just like a rose after the rain

If I could touch you one more time
I’ll take you where tomorrow couldn’t find us
Where we could leave goodby’s behind us
And hold you till the day I die
If I could touch you one more, just one more time

Love is a silent song
Lost along the way to remember when
Even though you’re gone
It sings deep in my soul and brings you back again
If angels can hear my prayers
Half past forever, I’ll be there
Life after life will light the flame
With all the faces of the names

If I could touch you one more time
I’ll take you where tomorrow couldn’t find us
Where we could leave goodby’s behind us
And hold you till I die
One more, just one more time
If I could touch you one more time.”

Returning to his chair, Tyrone wiped at the wetness on his cheeks and, as graciously as he could, accepted the heartfelt compliments on how beautifully he sang. His heart ached all over again as he listened to Crystal and Landon sing Danny Boy, another song his Lenora loved. This was exactly the kind of send-off he knew his Lenora would have wanted. He was sure she would have loved it, but oh, how his soul cried out to reunite with hers!

When it was all over, Tyrone and his family received many hugs and condolences, which he endured as stoically as he could. He was exhausted, and all he wanted to do was take his children home and try his best to get on with living. A new, dark chapter in his wretched life would begin today, and he just didn’t know how he was going to push through.

Author’s Notes: I do not own the copyrights to the songs mentioned in this chapter. I will include links to where you can listen to these lovely songs.

Titanium by Madilyn Bailey. Although the original was done by David Guetta, featuring Sia, this is a beautiful version. It’s how I picture Aurora singing it with Granther Amedus accompanying her on the piano.

To Where You Are by Josh Groban. This is pretty self-explanatory. 🙁 As I was looking for music to feature in this chapter, this was the embodiment of what Tyrone is feeling.

If I could Touch You One More Time sung by Steve Zell. It was written by Robin and Judithe Randall. It was featured on the Season 5 episode of Baywatch called Seize the Day. I ran across this strictly by accident. I was never a fan of the show when it was on but have watched some episodes since and have liked some of the stories. This was a particularly touching episode where Mitch lost the woman he was in love with due to cancer. The song played as Tracy died in his arms. Like I said, I ran across this by accident but knew this was another perfectly fitting song for this chapter. Again, I could so picture Tyrone singing this for and about his Lenora. 🙁

And of course, I think we’re all familiar with Danny Boy. There are many, many renditions of it that can be found. Do a search, find one you like, and sit back and enjoy.

As always, thank you for reading, subscribing, commenting, liking, and lurking.