It was too late for that though. Now, he didn’t have to prove anything to his father or anyone else. He was proud of himself. He didn’t need acceptance to be happy. He was grateful for what he had built with Clara, despite what anyone else might think of it.
He took her hand as they left the car. They followed the mourners to the gravesite and tried to hide their emotions. They were new in town. They were expected to be at the funeral to show respect to the family that had come before them. They were the ones who helped find Lyla and Richard’s bodies buried in that grove on their property. They were tied to them forever. But they weren’t expected to be sad. As far as everyone else knew, they didn’t know Lyla or Richard personally.
They’d gotten to know them though. They owed them their lives, and since that day, they all spent a little more time around each other in the strange but meaningful ways they were able to. The ghosts couldn’t interact with the world of the living too much without using up all their energy, but they came out every now and then to make the couple’s life easier and have conversations with them. Clara had grown fond of the family. Despite how odd it was, they became comfortable with the ghosts living in their house. Sometimes it was easy to forget they were dead.
As they looked at the shiny mahogany caskets, they were hit with that stark reality and grounded in the truth. Near the bundles of flowers from people who previously thought the couple were murderers were the graves of Olivia and Kyle. The family’s bodies were reunited.
Of course, their souls never left each other. They never would. As Clara and Ezra listened to bittersweet stories of the family’s life before they met them, they saw them hovering at the edge of the woods. Lyla, Richard, Kyle, and Olivia listened to all the kind things others had to say about them. They joined in remembering the incredible memories and cried with their loved ones.
Despite knowing it would look out of place, Clara and Ezra cried too. They couldn’t hold back the tears. They felt awful for this poor family who they’d grown to care about. They didn’t deserve any of this. The children should’ve been allowed to live out their lives, fulfill the endless potential that lay before them. Their parents should’ve been able to provide the future they always dreamed of. Yet they were killed for a piece of property. It would never be worth it.
They were grateful they could at least give them this though. A proper burial and a chance at redemption. Their names had been cleared and at least now they were here to hear it. They could see how much others had cared about them.
Lyla had shared with Clara how difficult it had been to know others thought she killed her children. It had weighed them down, keeping them from rising into whatever waited in the afterlife. Yet, as their loved ones spoke, the ghosts grew bright. Brighter and brighter until they started to rise.
Clara and Ezra knew what was happening and it was bittersweet. They wanted the family to find peace, they knew they deserved it. But oh, how they’d miss them. It’d be another adjustment, and they were tired of adjusting. They wanted things to stay the same for a while. They wanted time to get used to a regular life again.
Yet the family continued to glow brighter until there was a big pop of light. As the speeches wrapped up, four colorful butterflies flew over the mourners. Everyone looked up at the same time. No one said it out loud, but everyone felt the sense of peace that followed.
56
Ezra couldn’t sleep that night. It wasn’t too unusual. Trouble sleeping had become commonplace for the couple after that fight for their lives. Tonight was particularly difficult though. So much had changed, and the house felt emptier without the spirits. Even though they didn’t see them all the time before, they knew they were there. Now, it was too quiet. Everything felt off. It’d take some getting used to. It would take time.
He went into the kitchen and warmed up a couple of the chocolate chip cookies Nathaniel left for them, then made up a cup of lavender tea. It had become a frequent part of his nights, waking up to a snack and some sort of warm drink to ease his mind back to sleep. Slowly, they were healing. It simply took patience and the willingness to do what they could in the meantime to smooth out the rough edges.
He took his treats into the living room to sit by the fireplace. The flames were usually enough to scare the nightmares away. This night though, the nightmare came to life. Ezra paused as he stared at the figure leaning against the stones.
An old panic set in, but with one deep breath, he sent it away. He wasn’t a scared little kid anymore, nor was he an insecure young man. Ezra had grown since he’d seen his father last. He was no longer scared of him. He didn’t care what he had to say. His father pushed himself off the wall and stood before his son.
“If you’re here to gloat, don’t bother,” Ezra said. His tone was calm and confident, not bitter like he worried it might be. “I know I made a mistake in allowing us to come so close to our deaths, but
