Grief doesn't smell like flowers, it smells like dirt, like the iron of rusted gates, like wet stone, like ashes that never settled.
She pressed two fingers to the head stone, the way her brother used to press them to her forehead when she had nightmares,
"it's okay, Luna . I'm here."
He's not, he hasn't been for two years and she's done pretending forgiveness is part of healing.
The graveyard is quiet, the kind of quiet that makes your thoughts louder.
Luna reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the crumpled newspaper article, it's old, but she has read it a thousand times —Tragic Accident Claims Life of A College Student, No Charges Filed.
She remembered what happened two years ago on her birthday , the day she turned eighteen when her brother Dave went to work on his first day and never returned, she never got to say goodbye, she remembered how her brother used to care for her and protected her while she was growing up, to her, he was the father she never had because her father died after her birth.
That fateful day, her only brother had gone to work after hugging her and their mother goodbye , promising her a birthday gift when he returns because that day was also her birthday but he never returned, she never received her birthday gift from him , they never knew that was the last hug they will receive from him, they only saw his body lying lifeless in the morgue later in the day.
Luna was broken, it was that day that her whole world shattered, he's gone, her only brother is gone, never to be seen again, forever and ever , she remembered how she shook his body in the morgue violently calling onto him to wake up and look at her one last time, telling him that his beloved sister is here , demanding for her birthday gift,
" you promised me a birthday gift, is this it?!!, open your eyes and tell me it's a prank, don't do this to me Dave, how am I gonna live without you? Who will I run to when I have nightmares?who will care for me when I'm sick? Who will protect me now? This is not fair? Dave it's my birthday! You promised to return! Why didn't you keep your promise this time! Dave open your eyes pleeease! One last time huh!!
She cried loudly , her voice could be heard by everyone on the hospital floor that day, her mother hugged her and together they wept bitterly , her mother has lost her son, her baby boy is gone , never to be seen again.
She wiped the tears on her face and sighed sadly.
They ruled his death an accident but her mother didn't believe that her only son would be so careless to fall from the ninth floor of a building just like that. So they were made to believe.
But Luna knew the truth and vowed never to rest until she uncovers the truth before the world.
She doesn't believe in accidents. Not when every clue leads back to the Roth family. The golden untouchable Roths. With their country clubs and clean alibis. With their smiles that has blood hidden behind them and she's going to make them pay.
She tucked the paper into her coat and headed to the city.
....
The sky is the color of cigarette smoke and her boots slapped against the wet pavement like punctuations . She has an hour to kill before the part time job she hates ,in a book store she loves and with a boss she'd like to shove into the traffic.
The bell above the door jingles as she entered. Warmth ,paper ,ink . A flicker of peace, brief like a heartbeat in the dark.
She's restocking the philosophy shelf when someone stormed into the aisle like they own oxygen, "you're standing in the Nietzsche section " a deep voice says, smooth, clipped, expensive.
Luna glanced over her shoulder, unimpressed, he's tall, too tall, designer coat, razor cut jawline, cheek bones that could slice glass, deep eyes that can look into one's soul , dark hair that's styled to the tee, he looks like a perfect work of art, someone that's carved out of a painting, the kind of guy who's never heard the word no without a lawyer following. But Luna was unfazed by his looks at that moment.
"wow" she said flatly, "thanks for the update, want a cookie?".
He blinks , momentarily thrown. Good, arrogant types hate unexpected responses.
" I'm just trying to grab a book ".
"You have arms" she said sweetly "use them or are they not long enough?"
He laughed - sharp and low, like he doesn't do it often " You always this charming to customers?"
" only the rude ones " , she replied, brushing past him with a book in her hands.
He watches her go, that smug smirk never quite leaving his face, she felt his eyes on her back like static.
Later , she found the receipt he left on the counter with a name boldly written on it _ Lucien Roth.
The pen in her hands stills, her heart stutters , once then twice, it's not possible, she didn't realize she was holding her breath as she looked at it the second time _Roth. She couldn't believe it , that last name gave her the biggest scar in her life that can never be healed.
Later that night, she got home and sat on the worn out sofa in the living room and turned on the evening news, the events of the day freshly carved in her mind , all relating to that name.
Just then , the TV screen lit up with a bold headline displaying on it , with the face of a familiar young man attached beside it_ THE HEIR TO THE ROTH'S DYNASTY- LUCIEN ROTH RETURNS.
She froze, she couldn't believe it , her jaw dropped, her face wore a mixture of emotions but she erased them and replaced them with a dangerous smile.
" Well well look who just walked into the fire ".