2.62 – Goodbye Bianca

The sun set on a beautiful day in Strangetown as Allie began to speak. The crowd was gathered to say goodbye to their beloved Mother, Grandmother, and friend, Bianca.

“Mother…Bianca…came to this town in search of family,” Allie began. “And she found that, and so much more. She found love, and home. And then she taught the rest of us how to find the same.

She endured so much…we’ve all of us, endured so much…but Bianca always did it with a smile and a hug.”

Allie took a deep breath as the words caught in her throat. “Mom gave the best hugs.”

“Now, if you’d like to come pay your respects, Caprice would like to play one of Mom’s favorite songs, so perfectly named…Home. It won’t be the same without you Mom,” Allie said, looking skyward. “We will all miss you so much.”

The crowd listened as Caprice played a tender rendition of her Mother’s favorite song, and slowly made their way to the grave plot to pay their last respects to the woman who was so loved by all.

As the sun dipped down below the horizon, the first drops of rain began to fall, and one by one, the guests left for the evening. Allie said her goodbyes, and gave many hugs, yet each hug only served to tug on her heartstrings a bit more, to remind her that she would never feel her mother’s warm, strong arms around her, not ever again.

As she turned to go inside, she realized she was not alone in her pain. Red stood, head in hands, crying silent tears. She started to go to him, but stopped short. He cried for more than Bianca, she sensed. He cried for Emmy, and for the fate of the DiPoteres. He cried because he felt so intensely the passage of time – after so long as an immortal Protector, each year felt like a day, and there was so much more to do. He cried for all of that, and more.

Allie went inside and sat in her mother’s newly redecorated kitchen. For her it was much more simple. She cried only for the loss of her mother.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNxCbIrTQRc]