Burial-Part II: Chapter 1
by Andy Malone
It was the second body that Buffy and Willow had seen go into the ground in recent history. They both stood silently, holding hands.
Buffy was silent.
Willow seemed on the verge of words, though her labored breathing that had been a result of sniffling and sobbing prevented her from doing so. They just looked at each other and gave a little nod. They both now knew what it was like to lose somebody that had been so loved. Willow finally understood what Buffy had felt so long ago.
“Ashes to ashes…” the eulogizer said, then after a brief but excruciating moment, added “and dust to dust.” Buffy wondered if she was dreaming, because everything about this moment mirrored exactly the funeral of her mother. This time it was Willow’s grief that would be felt.
“Amen,” added the crowd. Willow stood as everybody departed. Buffy didn’t try to console Willow, for she already knew what had afflicted her, and found that no good could come from interrupting the last moments Willow and Tara would have together.
It was a sunny day, although if the weather mirrored the mood in the cemetery, the rain would have poured so thick, that it’s likely many would have drowned. Buffy kept her head rotated back towards Willow, who was now on her knees touching the casket that was about to be put into the earth. Xander tugged Buffy gently, his arm locked within hers, signifying that it was time to leave Willow alone.
Giles, looking regular in his suit, paused a moment, and whispered into Buffy’s ear:
“Should we leave her alone? What with the magical problems she’s had?”
“Logic’s telling me to not let her, but inside it just sounds right to let her pay her last respects.” Buffy added.
“She is still severely addicted, and if past events are taken into consideration, she might react harshly and violently to too much emotional stimuli.”
Buffy scoffed, the first time she had even felt a tinge of happiness or laughter in days. “Even at a funeral, you still don’t speak human.”
“Come on, let’s go,” Dawn urged, still sniffling and wiping her nose, which had now become bright red.
They left Willow to her own, and even though the grave was being filled in, she stayed. She stayed longer, until it was dark. At sundown, she rose from her knees and felt that same twinge of anger that she had felt before, the anger that had caused her to kill Warren. She turned up her head, and looking at the heavens, spoke in Latin. Suddenly, it rained down. At first, very slowly, but picking up to a level that could be justifiably described as “cats and dogs.”
When Buffy woke up in the morning, it was quiet as usual. Dawn was downstairs tinkering in the cabinets, searching for some sort of pre-scholar sustenance. Buffy, remembering the day before, went in to check on Willow.
She walked lazily from her room down the hall to Dawn’s, since obviously Willow would not want to continue sleeping in the room in which her lover was killed. Buffy took short steps and walked slowly, all to avoid falling. Buffy was notoriously not a morning person, and also notoriously clumsy, so deciding not to mix those two, walked nimbly in order to avoid crashing into the ground. She swung open the door to Dawn’s, and saw a sleeping bag on the ground, where Dawn had slept. However, the bed on which Willow was supposed to sleep was still messy, most definitely from Dawn’s previous mornings of not making her bed.
Buffy knew that Willow had not come back, because had she returned to sleep in the bed, it would most surely have been made in proper order, with stuffed animals placed immaculately near the pillows, almost matinee-like in appearance.
“Dawn?” Buffy yawned walking down the stairs, smelling the aroma of pancakes cooking.
“Yeah? I made breakfast for us.” She retorted, bouncing her head and smiling in the “give me praise” type of way that everyone had become accustomed to seeing.
“Did you see Willow come in last night?”
“Actually, I don’t think she did.” Dawn said calmly, noting that Willow could still be at the cemetery.
“Oh,” Buffy said worriedly, putting on her red-brown leather sweater and heading outside, determined to find Willow.


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