Ashes To Ashes

[Georgia]

Story title: Ashes to Ashes

Type of story: One shot

Rating: T

Main Characters: Aden and Belle

Genre: Romance, tragedy

Warnings: No

Is Story being proof read: No

Does story contain spoilers: No, I don't think so, not anymore.

Summary: It’s been a year since Belle Taylor’s death, and Aden has decided that it’s time to scatter her ashes

A sombre mood hovered over Summer Bay. One year ago today, one of their favourite residents had died. A daughter, a sister and a wife gone in a flash. Today was a day when everyone was entitled to be sad, to be reflective, to be moody and cross.

The diner wasn’t open, because Irene was curled up in bed. The surf club had no business, because everyone was at home, with family and friends.

Aden Jeffries, however, wasn’t.

He was sitting at Roman’s house, with an urn in his lap. The urn was delicate, and engraved with beautiful flowers and swirls, but that didn’t disguise the fact that his wife was lying in it.

A whole year had passed, but Aden still didn’t know how to act. Sure, he went out to work every day with Geoff, he went round to Irene’s for dinner, he hung out with Nicole, but there seemed to be a part of him missing, a part that was full of pain.

It was the part of him that Belle Taylor had occupied.

He had left the urn hanging around the house for a whole year, moving it to different places every couple of days, so that Belle was always closer to him. But then, last night, he had realised that Belle wasn’t the kind of person who had stayed cooped up in a house. She was always spirited, and free, and in death, she deserved that as well.

So, after much deliberation, Aden trudged up the stairs, donned his wedding suit, and picked up Belle, before walking to the beach.

The sun was high in the sky when he got there, but the beach was empty. The sun was reflecting on the water, making it ripple and move gracefully.

Aden sat on the sand, unaware of how strange this made him look, sitting on the beach in a suit, holding an urn. Even if he had known, he wouldn’t have cared. He would have done anything for Belle, even switch places with her, so he would have died instead.

It felt like a part of him was dead anyway.

Leave the window open, for me, the gentle breeze seemed to whisper into Aden’s ear, and tears welled up in his eyes, and the memories that he had held at bay flooded in.

Flirting at the diner, thinking about her at night, climbing through her window, sleeping in her bed, breaking up, making up, sweet kisses, long nights, school formals, near death experiences, breaking up, making up, engagements, death sentence, wedding, death, funeral.

The past blurred in Aden’s head, and the memories overwhelmed his senses. In that moment, Belle was everything, she was everywhere.

We shall share a lifetime of eternal and immeasurable love.

A lifetime hadn’t turned out to be that long, a mere few weeks.

How are you supposed to do everything in a few weeks?

The future, new house, new life, new town, new friends, pregnancy, babies, toddlers, children, teenagers, love, friendship, hope, dreams.

The future had been shattered and torn apart, and now Aden was left in the present, with only memories and photos of the past, and fantasies about the future.

The present, work, friends, heart break, devastation, loss, pain, loneliness, death, ashes.

Aden stood up and brushed the sand from his trousers, before walking towards the water. He gently lifted the lid from the top of the urn, and put his hand in, touching Belle for the first time in a year. He took out his hand and opened, letting her ashes spread on the water, and be picked up by the wind. Repeating the process, Aden began to speak.

“You are the best thing that has ever happened to me Belle Taylor, and I will never forget you, no matter how long I live. You gave me hope, you trusted me, and you changed my life. Being here without you sucks but I grin and bear it because you loved life. And you were right Belle. We will share a lifetime of eternal and immeasurable love, but we are just going to have to wait for that. I am sure that one day we will reunite and nothing will get between us. We are forever Belle. Ashes to ashes”

Ashes floating on the water, ashes blowing in the breeze. On that day, one year after Belle Taylor’s death, she was released. She floated over Summer Bay, and everyone who had ever loved her, felt something, or someone, watching over them. Just for one second, and then the wind picked up, and Belle Taylor was gone, leaving behind everyone and everything. The smiles dimmed and the sadness rose, for everyone except Aden Jeffries, who was suddenly at peace with himself and life.

Aden smiled to himself. He had scattered Belle’s ashes, in the most beautiful place in Summer Bay, the ocean.

In that moment, he knew that he had done the right thing, because although he missed her more and more each day, he believed his words.

One day they would reunite.

Ashes to ashes.

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