I found out that your middle name means “majestic’. And your first name means ‘something merciful’. I didn’t piece these things together until after your spirit went home, but it suited you well for all these years. I mean, your final act was an act of mercy, right? You fought for me until I told you it was okay to fall back into the arms of what sent you here. You pushed and pulled and stood strong when the world screamed back for you to fall. You did this well. You did this mercifully for me. Now, I move in some sort of strange silence. I dance around my own shadow like a chore. The monotony sinks into to each day with a vengeance. Grips my throat hard enough to sting, but never to kill. Sadness falls gently on heavens doorstep. It’s sealed in a love letter addressed to you. I once told you that the bad things wouldn’t make me bitter. I meant it. I’m grateful for it all, even the sadness, because it meant I got to love. Grateful for the gift of you. Grateful for the sun and moon and wherever you landed in between. Grateful for your final act of mercy. -AMT ©️