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For the heroes of the universe, it wasn't a large monument. Just a small green park in the middle of a busy city. A space themed playground echoed with children's laughter that faded into a grassy opening where families spread out blankets for picnics. Trees lined the many walkways, broken up by the occasional information plaque. The Sun beamed down over the whole park, its rays tangling in leaves and glistening against the student-made sun catchers. At the heart of it all stood the centerpiece.
A large statue bloomed from the ground. The crew of the Hail Mary standing tall back to back, the Sun in the center of them all resting gently on their shoulders. The stone Petrova line swirled around them as they held their pose. Olseya Ilyukhina, hair pulled back into a ponytail with a wrench held in her hand gazed out over the city. Yao Li-Jie, permanently making a funny face as he looked down on the visitors who gathered to read the inscriptions at their stone feet. Ryland Grace, whose soft smile watched over the playground as he held a petri dish out to the world.
Colt had memorized every single detail. He could recite their epitaphs without hesitation. Some days he would walk the park, enjoy the sun with Jody by his side, while others he quietly sat on the bench watching as young kids would drop off flowers and ask their parents all sorts of questions. It became a habit to visit, rain or shine he was there at least once a week.
Today though, the sky was bright and he and Jody had shown up to the park bright and early. They laid out blankets and set out snacks, jokingly bickering over whether they had enough plates. Friends as close as family slowly began to trickle into the park. In their arms they carried gifts and dishes of homemade goods, the sweet and savory scents mixing with the summer air. As more people arrived stories of sets were swapped. An embarrassing fall here, a huge success over there, joy all around.
The air had started to cool when a small cake had been brought out causing an eruption of cheers. Colt's eyes widened at the candle covered surprise, but his protests were pushed back by a wall of playful singing. Hands rested on his shoulders and back as everyone crowded around him. When the final out of tune notes rang out, Colt couldn't tear his eyes away from stone as he blew out the candles.
The moment passed quickly with slaps on the back and tight embraces. Promises of good years passed and great ones to come orbited around Colt as he thanked everyone for coming. Well wishes and drawn out goodbyes left as the guest slowly drained out. Some lingered casting knowing glances while others offered their condolences that would quickly be whisked away by Jody.
After a while the only things left are a small pile of gifts, some slices of cake, and a worn out Jody and Colt. The sun had dipped below the horizon only just peeking up from the ground to cast long shadows. The truck had been packed up with the last of the party materials and leftovers, the sounds of the park had faded into a gentle hum of insects. The pair sat on the bench closest to Grace's statue, Colt's arm gently hung over Jody's shoulder while they both gazed up. They hadn't spoken a word since they finally sat down.
Colt felt hollowed out. Not in the same way a long day on set would leave him, or in the aftermath of dealing with a particularly annoying pain flare, but a deep aching thing that wanted to pull him in. It was a quiet thing, gnawing its way through the comfort the day had brought him, yet ever present.
"How are you feeling?" Jody asked as if she could read his mind.
"Tired." Colt replied with a sad chuckle.
"Well I can't imagine why, it's not like we had a party or something."
"I mean is it really even a party without spicy margaritas?"
Jody playfully shoved Colt as he laughed until tears sprung up in the corner of his eyes.
"The nights still young, or whatever you Americans say, we could change that."
"Hmm…I don't know I'll have to check with my wife to see if she'd be okay with that" Colt replied with mock seriousness.
"Colton Grace-Seavers I swear."
"Oh okay, okay!"
She smiled at him while pushing him yet again before Colt caught her and drew her into a quick kiss. His hand rested on her cheek as he pulled back to look her in the eyes.
"You ready to go?" Jody asked.
Colt thought for a moment, the smile slightly falling from his face. "Give me a few minutes?"
"Take as long as you need Birthday boy. I'll be in the car."
Jody gave him another quick kiss before standing up and walking towards the overloaded truck. Colt watched her form fade into the distance and the door shut before turning back to his brother.
Everything about Ryland was correct down to the way his hair always seemed to fight back. His warm smile watched over the park in the same way Colt had seen him watch over his students. The only thing off was the eyes. He could never figure out why they seemed off, sometimes he thought it was the way his eyes crinkled, or how the stone could never capture the life he had, but something about them always felt wrong.
"Looks like it's just you and me Ry." Colt's words dissolved into the empty park. "Happy birthday by the way, I know I know of course I remembered it's not like today is special for me either."
Distantly Colt realize he probably looks insane for talking to a statue, however he couldn't bring himself to care. Slowly he stood up from the bench and walked closer to the monument, stepping into the shadow that spilled beneath it. By the marble base flowers of every color had been piled up around Ryland's name. Pink and yellows occasionally broken by blue and violets mixed with small trinkets of the Earth and foxes. Colt crouched down by where he knew the gold epitaph laid and cleared it off.
Doctor Ryland Grace
Brilliant scientist, beloved teacher, and brave hero.
Forever remembered as savior of our Sun.
"Y'know there were a lot easier ways to outshine me than saving the whole of human race, you kinda set the bar pretty high for me." He shook his head lightly. "Ah, who am I kidding you were always going to outshine me."
Colt took a couple steps back so he could look up at the stone eyes yet again. A slight breeze had begun to blow through the park, an evening fog was settling over the grass. He knew he was avoiding the inevitable, a statue couldn't talk back after all. The gnawing in Colt's chest grew into a full attack as tears threatened to come. Ryland and Colt weren't even talking before the Hail Mary launched, both too lost in their separate egos and grief to let the other one in.
He knew he should have reached out, he knew he shouldn't have held a grudge. He'd waited for Ryland to call, and when he did he didn't pick up. He'd been stubborn and wanted one final bit of revenge. Just to make Ryland sweat for a second, Colt had watched the phone ring and simply let it go to voicemail. He didn't even get to say goodbye. Colt quickly shook his head trying to clear the guilt away. He could focus on different times, Ryland would want to focus on something happy. It was their birthday they could be happy on their birthday. Colt cleared his throat and swayed back and forth on his feet for a second before a memory lit up in his brain.
"Hey! You remember when we were 10?" Colt chuckled. "Probably not. I was the one who always remembered things—not that I was great at remembering them either. It's a miracle we could do anything. Well, you wanted to be an astronaut, talked my ear off about it every. single. day. All about the cool experiments, the ISS, aliens, all that stuff I didn't understand. You were always the smart one, I just wanted to be some run-of-the-mill actor, before I realized that the stunt guys did all the cool things. Okay, before you told me that stunt guys did all the cool things."
Colt glanced up locking eyes with his stone twin. Another thought crashed into his brain shifting his focus yet again.
"There was this science class we were in, always your favorite and the one I always slept in. You were bouncing off the walls because we were talking about space that day. I think that was the day you said if I didn't stay awake you wouldn't help me with my homework anymore. Which, by the way, never would have worked because you liked doing science problems too much to stop. I remember Mrs…. God I can barely remember her name anymore… Mrs. Kent, she started to tell us about the twin paradox and we made the perfect examples for her."
He laughed sadly shaking his head as his eyes focused back down to the ground.
"She said that you boarded a space ship right then and there and went off light years away…I stayed behind. She said time moved differently when you went that far that fast, and when you came back home you'd be younger than me…you got that blank look on your face, the one you got when something made you want to cry. Oh, I wanted to punch her for that, but you. Y-you just grabbed my hand under the table and squeezed real hard."
Colt choked on the words as they stumbled out. "You never mentioned wanting to be an astronaut after that."
Somewhere in his speech tears began to freely flow down his face. His breathing had slowly begun to get painfully shallow as his world collapsed in on itself. It became harder to stay present and remember what the point of the whole story had been. Maybe there hadn't been one in the first place, maybe he just wanted to make the stone statue laugh. The fog had settled around him illuminated by the moon shining overhead creating an unearthly glow.
"And I know you're not dead." Colt said with a shout, the words burning in his throat. "I don't care that they say you are and you were never coming home I don't care…I know you're alive I would've felt it it wouldn't have been quiet you're not gone, you're not gone…you're not gone"
His breath comes out in rapid shuddering gasps as the words muddle into broken sobs. His throat tightens to an uncomfortable squeeze as he tries to keep himself upright. Colt just needed to stand tall one moment longer and he could retreat to the safety of the car. He owed Ryland that much, he didn't deserve to see Colt collapse.
Colt's knees connect with the concrete with an alarming thud. He felt his chest heave as the words hit full force. His eyes stayed locked on his stone twin unable to let himself look away. He wanted to keep shouting; he wanted to sob. Colt's hands curled into fists struggling to hold on to the last of his composure. Everything he wished he had said clouded his vision as his breaths came out more and more labored.
Ryland couldn't be dead, he couldn't have another brother gone, another empty grave leaving him alone. Court had died violently in some prison riot and now Ryland died millions of miles away, it just couldn't be real. He couldn't be the last one, he was never meant to be the last one. Always reckless and always picking fights he should have been first, he wishes he were first.
"Ry…" His voice trembled as the name slipped from his lips.
A warm hand rested on his shoulder. A soft voice that reminded him oh so much of the times Court would comfort the twins gently soothed him. Colt collapsed into the warm body next to him burying his face in the crook of Jody's shoulder. His body shook with the force of his sobs. Her hands pulled him into a tight hug drawing patterns on his back drawing him back to his body. Colt leaned into the touch his whole weight being rested on her. She didn't need to speak words for Colt to know she cared. Jody cared with her whole heart, if love could cure the grief Colt had he'd never mourn again, but it just couldn't. His hiccuping sobs began to subside as his missing two thirds ached from inside his chest.
Slowly, Colt returned to his body. Enough time had passed that the fog had started to clear allowing some of the stars to shine through. He slowly began to lean himself back from Jody resting to look in her eyes. His brain nagged at him saying that all he would see is disgust, but as always he found nothing but care. Colt took her hand in his as he stood up feeling his joints protest at the action.
"I think I want to go home now." He said as if he hadn't been a mess all of two minutes ago.
"I think that sounds like a plan."
The pair walked hand in hand towards the truck giving each other small glances as they went. Colt, ever the gentleman, opened the door for Jody before turning back to the statue one more time. He lingered for a moment before softly shaking his head and glancing up to the sky of stars above. For just a second, he could imagine someone looking back down on him. His door shut and the engine rolled over allowing the couple to go peacefully into the quiet night.