Happy Mothers Day, Ma

Sighing, Ronald walked down the silent streets of London. It was considerably early in the morning, and technically he didn't even have to be up to get to work for another three hours or so, but the junior Reaper had something important he needed to do.

Knox turned onto Stoke Newington High Street, this time his feet dragging. The usually upbeat youngster felt as if he was carrying a pack of lead on his back, keeping his movements slow and cautious. Memories seeped back into his mind, back to when he was just a little boy.

"You almost have it, Ronnie." The strawberry blonde woman said as she smiled down at the boy, her fingers shifting through some sheet music. She then pointed to a staff on the first page, marked measure 32. "You just need to watch the key change here. See how the A becomes flatted?"

The nine year old boy peered over to the page, nodding. "What's the key for that again?" he asked, his mind drawing a blank. It seemed key changes into flats and sharps were his worst enemy.

"Here." A  graceful hand reached out to the piano and tapped a key lightly, it's single note filling the small room. "Now don't forget that most of these A flats are sixteenth notes, alright?"

"Okay." The partial blonde nodded, his head wobbling like a bobble head as he took back the sheet music and placed it on its stand. Once again he tried the piece all over.

Slow, nimble fingers pressed against the keys, creating a gentle metzo piano before erupting into powerful, emotional chords filled with fortes and ritardandos. Ronald's fingers danced along the white keys, this time perfecting the notes he had once missed.

Yet just as the song began, it's last few notes rang out and died in a formada, leaving the glowing woman next to him smiling with pride. "Very good, Ronald! That was beautiful!"

The look on her face made the little guy burst with pride and giggles. "Thanks, Momma!"

Ronald walked through the gates of Abney Park slowly, his eyes scanning over everything he saw as if it would distract him from what was ahead. However, it was no use, he knew what he had to do, and most of him truly wanted to. All of his heart wanted to, but whether he had the strength to he knew not.

After walking by so many others, Ronald arrived at the petite headstone he was looking for. He smiled at it fondly, head tipped to the side thoughtfully. "Hey, Ma." he said in a hushed, dry tone. His words were greeted by nothing but silence, but he continued to make conversation. "How are you? You know I miss you, right?" The youngster of a Reaper sighed heavily, his free hand rubbing the back of now aching head. This was a lot harder than he had predicted, and yet it felt good.

Bending down to the grave, Ron placed a bouquet of red roses and baby's breath in front of the headstone. "I know how much you love roses, Ma. Remember that time I tried to climb out the window to sneak out and play, and ended up falling right into your rose bush?" A shaky chuckle dripped out his lips. "I had thorns in my rear for a week. I'm surprised you didn't spank me either, but then again you're not the rough hitting kind are you?" A melancholy smile appeared on Knox's face as his hand reached out to the cold stone, his thumb running over the lettering as if he was giving his mother a tender stroke on her cheek.

It was then the painful fire in his belly reached up to his throat and constricted it, making his eyes water. He was quick to wipe his eyes with the cuff of his blazer, making sure not a single tear bubbled over. He never liked to see his mom cry, why create more pain for her by letting her see him?

"Alright," Ronald said softly. "I gotta go get ready for work. I love you." The young man removed his hand from the stone and gave his fingertips a single kiss before planting them back over the cold granite. "Happy Mother's Day, Ma."