For-

Decisions, Decisions Competiton (LucyPadma, whisper, tempting, and the Rudy Francisco quote below)

As Strong As We are United (team two)

Represent That Character (word count, 377)

"Loving you was the last thing I felt really good at."

- Rudy Francisco

.

Her hands were gentle when they touched you, like she was holding the world itself, and one wrong move could cause a whirlwind of disaster.

You want to remember Padma like that. The woman with the warm, gentle hands who loved you without reason.

You don't want to remember her like this, lying in a coffin, surrounded by the purest of satin. You don't want to think about how stiff her hands are, cold and unmoving as marble.

Loving her was easy. As naturally as breathing, you whispered those three sacred words. And, her lips pressed against yours, she breathed the words back into your soul.

Now, her chest is still. She is an angelic statue, framed by wood, on display for all to see.

She will never breathe into you again. She will never again say those three words you need now more than anything. She will only lay there, silent, until she fades to dust.

You never really understood why she loved you. You were always too young, too silly, too plain. Time after time, you asked her what she saw in you, why she would love you when you were hardly even worth a second glance. She never answered, only smiled and held you closer.

You'll never know the answer now. It's her final secret, the one she's taking to the grave.

You place your head against her chest, listening as though her ghost might whisper into your ear.

You were never really good at anything. Your cousins and sister outshone you, and you were forever trapped in their shadows. But loving Padma made you feel like you could do anything. It was your only talent, but as long as you had it, you were unbreakable.

Now she's gone, and your life's one true calling dies with her.

"Forever," she whispered, and you clung to that promise like a child clinging to her favorite blanket. She would be with you forever, and you believed her.

Now, it's too tempting to join her in that great beyond, to dance forever as angels among the clouds.

You wonder if her hands would still be so gentle if you willingly followed behind her.