Taking the path of remembrance up to the Rose Garden, Puck meandered on in melancholy. The breeze blew its weedy breath ever stronger, and he drew his collar up around his neck.
Puck admonished himself endlessly for all that had gone wrong in Marley's abbreviated life.
It occurred to him also, that now Forsythe was undone, the worry of his unpredictable interference was gone, and he and Marley could have lived happily together. Things might have been otherwise. A part of him craved to live a human existence - if only for a short period of life.
His wandering drew him towards a path that was cluttered with older headstones leaning one up against another. Empty vases and rusty picture frames were scattered around their bases - the stones had pitted with the weather. It was most likely their loved ones had joined them in the plot.
Higher on the hill he was now climbing, he saw a woman and a man sitting on a concrete seat, looking down at the gatherings below. They seemed comfortable with each other, and from their close proximity it was obvious that they were a couple. Puck decided to turn and go back down, for he did not want to intrude on the romantics.
Several steps later he heard the voices of the two as they talked. He could not hear them well, for the wind carried their words to the south, however he realized all at once that the male's voice was well known to him. It was Brogan.
Of course! he thought, Brogan would want to be here for Marley! He must go and invite him down - there would be much to talk of - news of where he had been, and of what befell Mark Forsythe in recent days.
He walked urgently up the track, cheered to see his friend again. The woman lifted her head from his chest. Brogan's arms had been clamped around her, as she had kissed him with a delicate passion. Neither perceived Puck to be there beside them - he could not have been more invisible if he tried.
Upon getting closer he discovered that Brogan's companion was Marley. His Marley with his Brogan.
Plain to see, the two were very much in love - their auras were blending together. Their souls were serene – and radiant too.
It was now clear to Puck how he had lost his connection with her, during this time just passed - and that Marley had made, or regained, her affinity with Brogan once again.
The funeral had brought her here to this place after all. How could he be sad, when he found her now so truly content at last?
-Gabriel Brunsdon, Puck in Hell, Azlander Series
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