He was by no means an old man but the dignity and pride with which he carried himself down the street spoke of a certainty that could only have come with age. Regardless of what his age may have been, the young couple watching him couldn’t help but take in his obvious joy. The cause of which became clearer as he approached a nearby flower vendor.

“Flowers for a pretty lady?”

“Prettiest lady in the world.” The man grinned as he picked out a half a dozen roses.

“That’ll be three sickles.”

Whistling, the man continued down the street. The evening was bright and refreshing and at first the sidewalks were pleasantly crowded. As he continued walking, the sky began to grow dark and the streets empty. He stopped whistling and began to frown; hadn’t she said she would meet him? He walked further until he saw it; he didn’t even know how he had managed to miss her hair - shining as it was - a beacon of fire. He ran up to her but she was oddly unreceptive for she did not hug him. She didn't even reach to take the flowers. Instead, she merely stared as she tapped one stiletto-clad foot on the pavement. The stilettos were a slight surprise as was the rest of her attire; she tended to prefer modest clothing, not the mini-skirt she was sporting now.

“I brought you flowers, Ginny.”

She stared a moment longer before speaking. “My name’s Roxanne.”?
“Oh.” He wilted. “Well, have you seen her? Ginny, I mean. She has hair like yours…” As he talked, he moved closer to the woman and his face was thrown into sharp relief by the moonlight.?
She seemed angry at him for reasons beyond his comprehension and she stalked away. He shrugged and continued walking. Just a little bit longer and he would find her…

And yes, there she was. Oddly enough, he didn’t recognize her by her hair (which was how he almost always found her); instead her very presence had an air of familiarity and warmth. He instinctively quickened his pace because now that he thought about it, they always met here and he was just being stupid and forgetful, thinking that she would be anywhere else.

Finally she was just inches from him and he knelt in front of her with the same dramatic gesture that she so loved, even if she did act embarrassed about it. Laying the flowers at her feet, he declared his love for her and looked into her face.

No, not her face…just cold grey stone with her name on it. That was all it would ever be and the realization forced hot red tears down his cheeks.

Author notes: Much thanks to elyaeru, because fantastic betas make the world go ‘round. This is dedicated to goddess_of_ether because best friends who write really good fics/cookies for you ARE the world.

The End.
EverVengeful is the author of 3 other stories.
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