The Anniversary

“Luke! Did you fall back asleep? Gotta get up now, hon. I can’t be late for this meeting.” Nancy called up from the bottom of the stairs. Luke pulled himself out of bed and dragged his body to the shower, feeling in a daze as he went through the mechanics of getting ready. He ruffled his hair and headed downstairs for breakfast, barely noticing he forgot to put peanut butter on his toast before almost taking the first bite.

He ate and chewed without speaking a word. It had been one year since the death of his father. Torment gripped hard on Luke’s world as the reality of loss danced through his mind, poking holes in any peaceful feeling that tried to rise up from his soul.

“How are you doing sweetheart?” Nancy asked Luke as she backed out of the driveway that morning. “Today is a hard day.”

“Yeah.” Luke whispered. “I kind of just want it to be over.”

“I understand completely.”