Running my fingers along the glossy black, I don’t let my mind work. No. I’m not going to think, not going to think about this. Because if I let my thoughts unfreeze, I’ll realize that all these people have left us for the world above the sky, and that my brother…my brother is one of them. Third column, name one thousand, two hundred and fifty.

His name doesn’t belong here, etched forever in white letters. That’s not how it’s supposed to be. His name should be strung out in the stars, so all the world will know that I have the best big brother in the world. Carved onto a tree trunk, with a heart around it; written with icing on a birthday cake. That’s where his name should be. Not here.

Ignoring the tears rolling down my cheeks, I remember the day we found out; the day the army truck pulled up to my house. The day screams of pain shattered my life. I remember seeing my dad cry for the first time in my life. Still, I didn’t believe it.

I couldn’t cry that day. I was just numb. But now, now the tears come.