In memory of Charity Hawkins, aged eighteen years and three months, and Josiah Gathergill, aged twenty-two, who died together on the 15th of October in the year of our Lord 1753.
Now Charity and Josiah were being buried together. And, before long, it would be his turn to be lowered into the cold, dark earth.
Stan shivered and tried to turn his thoughts away from his inevitable demise. He was already fading fast, his limbs increasingly deaf to his brain’s demands and his swallowing becoming more difficult and laboured.
But at least he was here, to witness ancient bones finally being laid to rest.
The two skeletons had been released for burial after weeks of being examined and investigated, and they would be placed in the same grave, here in Heaven’s Cove.
It would be wrong to part them now. They would lie together for all time, in the village’s peaceful churchyard, their names engraved on a single headstone. Just as he, one day soon, would join his beloved Penny, whose gravestone was just visible beyond the yew tree that spread its branches wide.
And Alyssa and Jack and Magda would gather once more, to mourn a life cut shorter than he would have liked. But not so short that anyone would particularly comment on it.
Stan sighed, but his heart was warmed by Jack and Alyssa standing so close together in front of him.
Jack was a different person these days, with Alyssa in his life – more spontaneous, less guarded, more at ease… happier. Stan could see in him again the boy he’d once been, before his brother had become so sick. John’s death had closed him down but Alyssa was opening him up again, a feat that Miri had never managed.
Stan thought fleetingly of his former daughter-in-law, now living with Damian, her fiancé. But his thoughts flitted past her to Archie. His bright, funny grandson was coming to stay next week, and Stan would enjoy every moment of his energy and optimism.
Jack, too, would benefit from spending time with his son. He saw as much of him as he could, even though that was more challenging now that Jack had moved to Heaven’s Cove – a move purportedly to be with Alyssa but, just as much, Stan suspected, to look after him.
The bond between Archie and Jack still seemed strong. They spent ages talking on Facefit, or whatever it was called. And Jack had wangled a few days away from his new job at a nearby university, to spend time with him next week. No doubt, one of their trips out would be to Heaven’s Cove cultural centre to see the precious brooch, guarded by Charity for centuries, that was now a celebrated exhibit.
Alyssa, too, had taken leave from her new nursing job so she could build a bond with Archie. She and Jack appeared to be in it for the long haul, which made his battered heart glad.
And then there was Magda. Stan watched her wipe away a tear as the coffin bearing Charity’s and Josiah’s bones was lowered into the grave. That woman had a warm heart and a shining soul.
Stan had sometimes been a selfish man. He knew that, and he knew he was being selfish with Magda now. He couldn’t change the way he felt about her. He couldn’t be the companion she wanted. However, he also knew that he wouldn’t manage the end of his life’s journey with dignity without her by his side.
Penny had once described Magda as ‘one of a kind’, and she’d been right. Magda was one of a wonderful kind. He hated that he’d unwittingly caused her pain over the years. But he felt blessed to have been loved by two such magnificent women.
That wasn’t a bad epitaph for a little life spent in a tiny village on the Devon coast, he mused, smiling at Magda as she walked towards him. He coughed, his body wracked with spasm, knowing that, even as his life slipped away, he was a fortunate man.
* * *
