~ Part 19 ~ | A Very Fond Farewell

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** The Last Goodbye (The Hobbit) **

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"To these memories I will hold
With your blessing I will go
To turn at last to paths that lead home
And though where the road then takes me
I cannot tell
We came all this way
But now comes the day
To bid you farewell
I bid you all a very fond farewell"

~ Billy Boyd

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This chapter is dedicated to @Fireflyflow
Thank you for the votes! I really appreciate it!

(comment or PM if you'd like a shoutout!)

*****

Grief is a feeling that is hard to describe. Some people say it's consuming, angry perhaps, even sharp. Others call it numbing, making one unable to focus on what's happening around them. No matter how it feels, sharp or numb, it's never easy. It's not something you can push away as you would anger or something you can calm as you would excitement. It stays there no matter what you do.

The only way to escape grief is to find ways to heal. The pain won't go away completely but at least it'll hurt just a little less.

"Uncle?" Wu lifted his head and turned to see Lloyd approaching him. A warm fondness spread through the man's chest as he looked at his nephew. He didn't have the strength in him to smile but he hoped Lloyd would be able to see the gratitude in his eyes.

"How are you?" Lloyd asked carefully, stopping to stand beside him.

"Yellow chrysanthemums," Wu turned towards the flowers before him, deflecting gracefully. "They're beautiful flowers aren't they?" He reached and gently picked one to smell. "They often represent happiness."

Lloyd nodded slowly. He didn't always understand what Wu said but he liked to try. "Yellow is often used to show joy," Lloyd added.

"They've also been used to symbolize life and sorrow." The older man continued. "But the real reason I'm so fond of them are the words they represent." Lloyd tilted his head and Wu offered the flower to him to look at.

Wu gently placed the flower in his hand. "They're a way of saying goodbye."

"Goodbye, Dad." Morro's last words to him echoed in his head.

"It's time for the funeral." Lloyd reminded him quietly. He slipped the flower into the pocket of his shirt. "Will you be okay?"

Wu cast one lingering look at the flowers before him. They looked so calm and peaceful. "I suppose I'll have to be."

"We don't have to do it. I'm sure everyone will understand if you need another day or so." The boy hurried to say.

The man thought for a moment as he looked back at the people gathered a ways away. His old home had long been torn down and a nice garden had been made to replace it. The people who owned the property were nice enough to allow the group to hold a small funeral there. As Wu gazed at the familiar skies and the trees that have grown he was suddenly so grateful that he was able to spend this day giving Morro the send-off he deserved, right in his favourite place in the whole world.

Maybe it was time Wu stopped fighting the inevitable.

"Best not to put off 'til tomorrow what can be done today." Lloyd's head swivelled to stare at his uncle in surprise. Wu smiled at him. A small, warm smile. "I'll be alright, Lloyd."

With a hesitant nod, Lloyd led the man over to where the rest of the group was standing. It was a very small funeral with Wu and Misako and the first students attending. They had set up some chairs and then a little table with a picture of Morro Wu had saved. The boy had a rare smile on, his dark hair pulled back into a loose bun as he looked at the camera. Morro always seemed older than he was. This picture was one of the rare occasions the boy let himself feel like a kid. More yellow chrysanthemums were placed in a pot and incense burned beside them, releasing their strong scent into the air. The rest of the group waited patiently as Lloyd took his spot beside Misako and Wu strode to stand across from them.

This was it. Everything that had happened was now coming to a head and Wu could no longer run from it. The man couldn't help the nervous energy that buzzed beneath his skin as he looked at the expectant faces before him. His gaze landed on Misako. She smiled at him.

"Breathe," She mouthed.

So he did.

"Morro was never just my son," Wu began. "He was my teammate, my co-worker, and my best friend. He had a big heart and a clever mind. He achieved many things in his life and I only wished he'd had the chance to do everything he ever wanted to do." The man turned towards the picture. His heart swelled and a heavy feeling weighed on his chest. "Morro wanted to be remembered. I have not kept his memory alive as he deserved."

Lloyd took a step forward, probably to object or offer some comfort but Misako placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just wait." She whispered.

"But it's never too late to try," Wu looked back towards the group. "I won't put it off any longer."

Memories deep within the archives of his mind were pulled out and replayed as if time had never passed. Wu couldn't help but smile as he talked about flying kites in the summertime. Morro had worn a very serious expression, his eyes laser-focused on keeping the kite high in the air. He would've stayed there all day if Wu hadn't tempted him back inside. Wu chuckled as he described Morro's first attempt at peking duck. The house had filled with smoke and the delicious duck was burned to a crisp. Wu and Morro had bickered almost hysterically, all while running to open up the windows and doors. The group smiled when their teacher described Morro's visits to the homeless shelters. Morro had never showed the same patience he did whenever he was helping people in need. He would talk to the people staying there, asking them casual questions as he handed out donations that he collected.

Wu had forgotten many of these memories. His brain had been so focused on bad things that he hadn't remembered all the good memories he'd had. But as he laughed over his son's antics and smiled at the simple joys they had shared, he began to see how much of their life together he never wanted to forget. Even after the reception ended Wu continued to talk about Morro, his tone became more and more nostalgic as he went on. It had been painful to think about Morro, to think about it everything he had lost the day his son stepped out that door. It still did hurt. It was a steady ache that Wu wasn't sure was ever going to go away. But he felt lighter now. The guilt and grief that had been dragging him down were finally beginning to dissipate.

The headmaster couldn't help but smile a little as he sat back at the dinner table and watched the students interact. Nya and Jay were whispering to each other - a sweet smile never leaving Jay's lips, Kai was teasing Zane about texting his "friend that is a girl" at the dinner table to which the taller boy protested, while Cole served himself a large scoop of noddles and chatted with Toni across the table. Lloyd sat quietly to the side, subtly picking through his meal for the vegetables and silently dropping them on the dark-haired boy's plate when he wasn't looking. He stopped when he saw Misako raise an eyebrow toward him.

After a moment of non-verbal motherly scolding, the woman directed her attention toward Wu and gently nodded to the group. "You've found some good kids."

"I have." Never had Wu ever known that his students would be helping him just as much as he helped them.

Before Misako could reply Kai's incredulous yell cut through their conversation: "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU AND PIXAL CONFESSED?" The teacher chuckled as Zane turned an impressive shade of red and all attention immediately turned to him. Loud and demanding questions spewed from Nya's mouth, excitement evident in the girl's voice as she fought with her brother for dominance in the conversation.

Wu shook his head, giving up hope of being able to talk over the noise. He couldn't bring himself to be bothered, not when there was so much pure joy in the air. The old man look over the room with a chuckle and met the eyes of his nephew, warm and proud. Lloyd sent his uncle a small smile before he took Cole's distraction with Zane as a chance to shovel the rest of his vegetables into Cole's noodles. Wu blinked and for a moment he could almost imagine Morro in the middle of the chaos, a smirk on his face as he observed the relentless teasing Zane was getting and the spark of mischief in his eyes bright when he helped Lloyd get rid of the healthy parts of his meal. He disappeared just as quickly as he came, leaving Wu longing for the times that could have been with a bittersweet smile.

"Goodbye Morro," Wu whispered into the air. "You did great things. I hope you don't regret them." His words were drowned out by the yelling. But even as the noise rose higher and higher, Wu could almost hear a small voice in his ear.

"Goodbye, Dad."

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"Headmaster Chen?" A bored tone drawled out the name as if it physically hurt him. An unimpressed scowl painted the man's face as he stood in front of the principal. The person he was speaking to spun around in his office chair gleefully, a wild grin on his face.

"Clouse!" Chen said excitedly and clapped his hands. "Look! I've created a tower with the items on my desk!"

Clouse slid his gaze tiredly to the small stack of objects before him. Chen's bejewelled pencil sharpener was stacked on top of the World's Greatest Teacher mug he had gifted himself, with a pencil balanced perfectly at the tower's highest point. The snake pencil topper Chen stuck on the end glared at Clouse like the unsteady pile was his fault. It tilted dangerously as Chen continued to swivel in his chair.

"You have a phone call scheduled now." Clouse reminded him after he watched Headmaster Chen rotate for a couple of seconds.

"Ooh!" Chen halted his spinning and dragged his phone towards him, eagerly punching in numbers until the phone began to ring. Clouse rolled his eyes as his coworker began to dance in his seat impatiently until the line picked up.

"Hello?" A voice spoke. It was tired but friendly, the sound rough with age and bad connection.

"Hello Dr. Julien," Chen said cheerfully into the phone. "I am Headmaster Chen from Chen's High School for the Gifted."

"Ah, yes, I think I've heard of you."

"As you may know, we have our grande inter-high school competition coming up. I was hoping you could be our guest." Chen continued.

There was a moment of hesitation from the other side of the call. "I'm not so sure if I'm up to it," Julien admitted.

"Our competition is quite the spectacle," Chen grinned. "It's known nationwide. I've been told some reporters want to come by. Perhaps you'll be able to reach out to anyone you may be looking for."

As soon as he heard the man's breath catch Chen knew he had him.

"Alright," Dr. Julien agreed. "I'll be there."

"That's marvellous!" Chen planted his feet on the ground and pushed off, forgetting that the phone was attached to a chord. It tangled around him as he spun. "Uh- I have to go now! Clouse will send you more information!"

"Goodbye, Headmaster Chen." There was a click as the man hung up. Chen craned his neck to look at the vice principal. The man gave him a deadpan glare.

"Clousey Clouse?" The headmaster sang. "Help me out!"

Clouse curled his lip with distaste at the nickname but walked over and helped Chen spin his way out from the chord. "Are you sure about this... Julien." He said carefully. "You know how special guests went last time, Headmaster. It's a lot harder for you to, let's just say get the upper hand, when there's an unbiased judge in the mix."

Headmaster Chen laughed. The sound was a tad bit hysterical as he grinned up at the other man. "Don't worry, Clouse. I have it all figured out!" He proceeded to giggle again, the force of his laughter causing him to bump against his desk. The tower he had created tipped and collapsed onto the floor with a clunk.

Clouse sighed. "Yes, Headmaster." He growled through gritted teeth.

Hopefully, the lunatic won't pull in any trouble. Clouse grumbled internally. We can't afford another mistake.

NOTES*****

Alright! Ghost Story is finally finished! If I'm being completely honest I'm not all that satisfied with this chapter but I stayed up past 1:00 am to finish this so I don't have the brain juice to figure it out.

I hope you enjoyed this section of the story and I'm really excited about the one coming up!

LuckyBugBooks 🐞

P. S. A bonus chapter may be coming. I know I promised one at 20K so I'm hoping to do one for 30K