A Good Friend's Return (Andrew)

I saw a figure walking towards me from about a mile away with someone else. The larger of the two held something large and egg-shape. Thinking it was an urn with Steve's ashes, I suddenly felt nauseous. A wave of grief and guilt washed over me. I failed to prevent him from going on this mission. I failed to break my routine to save him.

I failed him.  I really did.

Unlike all the other times I failed Steve, this time, he couldn't forgive me and tell me it was all right. I looked down at my hands, which I picked bloody and raw. I promised Steve that I would get over this and I didn't. His leaving made it worse. What would he think knowing that I didn't honor his last wish? The figures neared me. I waited because that was all I could do. As the sun set, they came closer and closer. I found myself picking at my hands again. Stop that! I thought, but I couldn't. The figures walked along the cobblestone path. I braced myself for their words and walked tremulously along the path. It's better to fight head on rather than to wait.

Reciting digits of pi in my head, I met the figures. The smaller of them scrambled into a tree. The other extended his hand.
          "Hello". He greeted me. I heard him speak more, but the sound of my own thoughts muffled his words. I almost heard Steve through his voice. He wanted to Why did he have to die a hero? I planned for us to be together into our old age. We dragged each other into and out of life-threatening situations. We shared jokes, made good-natured jabs at each other, and, for the most part, were there when we needed each other the most. The figure attempted to reach out to hug me, but I denied it. If Steve died in the cold End, I should die cold as well. He sat patiently and waited for me to come out of my head as Steve would have done.

Oh, Steve...

          "Just go. I don't want your company" I snatched the egg-shaped urn from him and cried. He laughed.
          "Some way to welcome a friend. I just came back from the best quest in my life and you respond by having a meltdown?" I couldn't believe it. Could it be? No. I was just deforming reality into what I hoped for. I was becoming insane. I had to face the facts. 
          "I'm sorry. I just miss my friend. We were friends for ten years and..." I left it at that. Steve would not want me to incoherently blubber in a stranger's face.
          "Well, I'm back. What else is there to say?" The clouds in the sky parted to reveal a thousand stars and a full moon. It was Steve! I (quite literally) jumped for joy.
          "But where's Caitlin?" I could relate to her easily. Both of us had limited social skills among other issues. I cared about her like she was my sister. She was two years younger than Steve, but was in the same grade as him for middle school and high school. Even then, she got all As and took many advanced classes. I envied her. I could never sit still and absorb information the way she did. Maybe it was easier for someone like her.
          "She's in a tree. I guess it's another trait of hers I just need to get used to." Upon hearing these words, Caitlin scrambled down from the tree. She seemed to shrink away, as if wanting to fade into the night. While I never stood in the spotlight like Steve, I never experienced this level of shyness. I saw Steve's face change into an expression I couldn't identify easily. Was it shock? Concern? Maybe anger? "What happened to your hands? They look like silverfish attacked them!"
          "I started picking again." I hung my head in shame. "I was so worried about you that my hands took over."
          "I understand." He quickly embraced me. Caitlin stood at his side clutching her apron. She waved with a quick, slight motion accompanied by a grin that tugged at the corners of her mouth. I noted her features. Her hair grew out about six inches and fell about her waist in the back, she had perfect pale skin as usual, and a faint purple aura seemed to flicker around her. I thought of her as off-puttingly beautiful. For starters, she was endernymph, not human. She did not have the coercive guile of most, but she was definitely too much in many areas to be human. I preferred a balance of ideals, flaws, and non-issues. Sofi was the perfect example of this. She is quite pretty, but snares me in traps when I mine and can't go a day without playing video games. On the other hand, I have extensive medical knowledge as a doctor, rush into combat without thinking, and need access to some kind of mining to calm down. We had our discrepancies, but that was okay. What's life without a skirmish?
           Caitlin looked around trying to escape, but Steve grabbed her by the arm and awkwardly introduced us. She looked shocked and annoyed, but passively dismissed it. They went on the path holding hands and walking into the night.