This is a little drabble that came to me while reading the latest installment of "The Colour Wheel" by purplephantasms. Also, I sort of started thinking about it while I was walking today and listening to the song "Mad World" by...um... *tries to remember his name* *fails miserably*

~L~

Tap. Tap. Tap. Ian numbly took in the rapping of his shoes on the sidewalk pavement. His right side was to the city streets. His eyes were on the ground ahead of him, his hands in his pockets. He spotted some familiar faces on the passers-by, faces from his childhood that he couldn't quite place. His mind didn't really register it, though.

He looked up to the bright blue sky that shone like a sapphire above him. He wondered at how deplorably grey it seemed. The puffy, white clouds looked like dark cumulonimbuses in his sight. He found it kind of sad how depressing the whole world seemed after you lost someone you really cared about.

Now, it felt like he was dreaming with his eyes open, like the world wasn't what was real, his dreams were. The horribly sad fact is, though, that the best dreams that he'd ever had were ones where he was dying...or simply dead.

He looked to his left with glazed eyes and saw a park with children laughing and playing. He could imagine himself as a child swinging on that very set of swings. How magnificent those swings seemed when he was younger! Now, the bolts were rusted over, the seats faded and empty.

He soon passed by a small meadow. Wildflowers bloomed abundantly in all different shapes and hues. He remembered coming down here with Natalie once or twice to catch butterflies or something silly like that. He stopped, stooped down, and picked a tiny little purple blossom. It seemed so fragile, and yet...it had survived the fiercest storms with barely a blemish on one of its little petals. He put it in his pocket and proceeded in his trek.

He walked on for a few more minutes until he finally came to his destination. He looked up at the pristine metal archway that gave access to the land inside the glittering fence's barriers. He read the big metal letters. "Dorchester Heights Graveyard." He entered reluctantly.

He walked up and down the neat rows of gravestones, not knowing what exactly he was doing, just expecting to get where he was going eventually. After a while, he came to the certain grave he was looking for. He knelt down in the soft dirt and stared into nothingness for a long time.

"Hey, Nat," he said finally. "It's... -he swallowed hard- it's been hard since you left. I've been struggling a bit, and even though you're gone, business is still as crazy as heck. I don't know why, but I figured the whole world would change after you died. I guess... I guess I'm the only one who really changed after all."

He tried to swallow down the lump that was forming in his throat. He rubbed his eyes to bid his tears to go away. Of course, none of this worked.

"I've been feeling kind of empty lately. I guess I took you for granted... I guess I never realized how much I needed you in my life to support me and argue with me."

He took the small purple flower out of his pocket and gently laid it on the soft dirt of Natalie's grave and cleared his throat. "I have to go now. Everyone's probably going to be wondering where I am. I hope it's lovely where you are, Nat. You always said you deserved the best."

He got up from his kneeling position and brushed the dirt off his pants. He was about to exit the cemetery, but he paused under the archway and looked back. He gazed at the many, many gravestones that dotted the beautiful landscape. Other people must have suffered, too. It was a mad world he was living in, and everyone else was living in it, too...

~L~

This is basically just pointless angst... But I wanted to write it, so you're going to review it. This story is kinda based on the song "Mad World" by...uh... *still can't remember name* Anyways, R&R please! ^^

~Sugar