I stood in front of the spot where Luke's grave had once been, this time instead of the knitted brows and expressionless coldness, I had a small smile playing on my lips, thinking of how far I have come. As a person. As a wife.
I smiled again, raising my head to the small tapping sound of a walking stick.
"Seeing how you are looking at that blank space and smiling like that, I bet it had been well for you." The man I now know to be Mr. McGregor said, his smile knowing.
I nodded. "I couldn't think of anywhere to find you, and I thought of here. Where we first met."
"Miss the mad man?" He teased and I laughed.
"How is my son?" He asked once the laughter died down, a hint of seriousness in his tone.
I turned to him, squinting against the bright sun rays. "He is perfect. Luke is perfect."
He broke into a big satisfied smile, then nodded. "I know. He takes after me. Without the flaws."
"I think you are not that bad too."
He turned to me. "You seem to have learnt a little too much. But then again, you can't love Luke without knowing the scars he carries. And one of them is me."
He was right. Luke's biggest sadness were his parents, even though now, he just cut off his mother. He had found it hard to forgive her for trying to bury an empty coffin, and apart from the wedding, he had pretty much kept her out of his life.
I sighed. "Luke carries it way better now, I promise. And if he ever needs to..."
Mr. McGregor turned to me. "You will be there for him?"
I nodded and he smiled. 
"Don't you ever want to meet him? Ever since he found that corpse was missing, he never thought of you as dead. He always just thought you were missing. Somewhere, waiting to be found."
Mr. McGregor shrugged again. "I guess we'll see."
He started to walk away, tapping his walking stick slowly. Now that I look at it, I don't think he really needs it to walk.
He suddenly turned, his brows furrowed, his lips carrying a mischievous smile. "By the way, daughter in-law...I know you now value everything time has given you, but it would be bad of me to take credit for your little...time slip."
My brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"
"I meant...you know the little calendar thing I gave to you?"
I nodded. How could I forget?
"It doesn't really work."
"How is that possible? I mean, both of us..."
He shrugged. "Both of us experienced something rare. Something beautiful. For the first time, I am happy. Not having to worry about my wife's love, while watching my son happy from a distance. You found the love of a man you riled out, and helped him stay above the earth. We both...have been given some of the greatest gifts life could ever give."
I felt tears well up in my eyes. "Thank you so much."
He laughed. "I hope I see you again, and I hope it won't be at a cemetery."
I nodded, a smile breaking through my tears as he turned away slowly and walked away, his head moving slightly to a rhythm only he could hear.
I swallowed, wiping the tears away and I turned, leaving the site. It's already 2p.m and the flight will be landing anytime now.
I drove to the airport, my eyes wide and eager as I waited for the arrivals to emerge. My heart skipped a beat when the door slid open, and they started to troop out.
I struggled to see amongst the crowd, and after a few minutes, I saw her. She had grown out her hair, and had dyed it light brown.
I gave a small smile and waved, just as she turned to me. For a few seconds, we just stayed there, looking at each other, the tension and uncertainty building up.
Over the phone, it had been quite easy to talk to her, and I had been so ecstatic to hear that she would be flying in from Australia. But now...
I smiled a little, hoping to thaw the ice. It was all it took, and she let go of her bag and ran to me, her eyes wide open.
"Bernice!" I said as she came into my ready arms, and she wrapped hers around me.
"Karla. Oh my God, it's Karla!"
I laughed as she made a little jump before releasing me. She took in a deep breath and just looked at me.
"Wow." She said, sniffing a little.
"Bernice."
She looked up at me. "We lost so much time, Karla."
I nodded. "But we now have a lifetime to make up for it, right?"
She laughed. "Definitely."
I laughed, pushing my bobbed hair back, and she caught sight of my wedding band. "Wait. You got married?"
I nodded. "Well, almost a year ago."
"You little wench! And you did not tell me?"
I laughed, looking at her own engagement ring. "Well, seems like I will be the only maid of Honor between us."
She laughed as I helped her with her bags, and we made our way to the parked car. There were no apologies for the misunderstanding, and there didn't even need to be one. It was the past, and time itself had shown me we had too little of it to spend regretting how we used it.
Luke was waiting for me outside when we got there, and I walked out and ran straight into his arms. He hugged me tight, before letting go of me.
Bernice came to my side. "Is this your husband?"
I nodded, turning to her.
"Oh my God, that is some fine specimen, right there, Karla. You lucky wench."
"Respect the rings, Bernice. The rings."
She rolled her eyes, and we broke into laughter.
The table was set when we got in, and both Bernice and I let our mouths hang open. 
"Luke?"
He shrugged. "You said you had a friend coming over." He winked at me, before extending a hand to her. "Nice to meet you. I am Luke McGregor."
Her brows furrowed "McGregor? Rings a bell."
I nudged her and she went quiet. We went to the table, and Luke pulled a chair for me. Bernice's phone suddenly rang and she excused herself, leaving both of us.
"Are you okay with the divorce, Karla?"
I nodded, shrugging. They have been divorced long ago to me. "Mom and dad deserve to be happy. It can only happen if they are apart."
Luke nodded. "Well, guess what?"
I turned to him. "What?"
"I am jealous of that," he said, pointing to my necklace. The necklace his eighteen year old self had given me.
I laughed. "Really?"
He nodded, then leaned over to me, his face resting slightly on my shoulder. He slowly removed the other necklace, then brought another. This one was a small heart shaped locket.
I opened it. One side of it was a little note in cursive, while the other held a mirror that would reflect me. 
"Te Quiero Mucho." 
I turned to him. "What does that mean?"
He sighed, then leaned to my ear. "It means, I love you very much, Karla."
I smiled, caressing the locket, as I leaned into him, our noses slightly brushing. "I love you too, Luke."
He covered the distance and kissed me, his hands moving my hair away. I smiled against his lips, before I leaned into him too, returning it.
 And I know that no matter what happens to us, the times we don't think we can bear each other, the moments we are distracted by the people around us, I will keep in mind that our love is beyond extraordinary, a gift from time itself and no matter what, it will never be he against I, always us against the problem.
Come sun, twilight or...November Rain.
 THE END