---
The Funeral
At the cemetery, only a handful of people stood… most of them didn't really know who Icarus was.
His father was there, standing beside his new wife, his face cold and unreadable. No tears. No break in his posture.
The little boy didn't understand why everyone was so quiet, or why that wooden box was being lowered into the ground.
Only one person wept with a heart truly broken—his aunt. She held her chest as if her soul was sinking into the grave with him.
Icarus had no one in this world… only a few who passed through his life and forgot him as soon as he was gone.
Except for her...
Nila.
She arrived late—eyes swollen, her breath ragged, running between tombstones, refusing to believe.
—"No, no… it's not him… Where is he? Where's the body? Don't tell me…"
They tried to calm her, but no one can soothe the kind of sorrow that comes from guilt.
She reached the coffin just as it was being lowered.
Falling to her knees, she stretched her hand to touch the wood, crying softly.
—"I should've listened… I should've come back before it was too late. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Icarus…"
But wood doesn't speak.
And soil doesn't forgive.
When the ceremony ended, she stayed behind, standing silently beside his grave, her tears falling like prayers.
His aunt approached her gently and handed her a small envelope.
—"We found this among his things… it has your name on it."
With trembling hands, Nila took the letter.
She sat down on the cold grass, unfolded the paper slowly—terrified it might break her before she finished reading.
---
"Nila,
I don't know if this letter will ever reach you,
But I'm writing it anyway,
Because the words we never say—
They live inside us, and they choke us.
I forgave you…
Through the pain, the betrayal, through everything—
Because my heart never stopped loving you,
Even if you forgot.
I was never a saint,
But I tried to live,
Tried to cling to anything that looked like life.
But the truth?
Nothing looks like life anymore.
You were the only thing in my world that wasn't grey.
But when even that color faded…
Everything else disappeared with it.
If you're reading this, it means everything is over.
But don't cry for me.
Tears won't change death once it arrives.
Just… live.
Live for me.
Goodbye…
—Icarus."
---
She collapsed.
A scream broke from her throat, shattered, trembling:
—"Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you shout at me? Why did you let me live while I was killing you?"
But the grave didn't answer.
And the wind didn't care.
All that remained was a girl torn by memory,
And a letter from a boy who lived in shadows,
And left in silence.
Now she knew…
She would never forget his name—
Icarus.
---