#buckhartd

"ey, buckeroo!" jogging uphill from his car to the farm, he sees lil salem first as he approaches, then willow in the doorway waving. big wave to her, then all his attention on the momma's boy as they close the distance. "woah! how fuckin' tall are you, lil man? you're almost tall as me now!"

his voice is as clear as it was the day he left her. "you named him after me?"

they are in the kids room now — they lay together, curled into each other's arms as they sleep deeply amongst toys and tangled sheets. the moon is nowhere in the night sky, but a pale light illuminates them both. the light comes radiating off him like the gentle glow of a candle.

he crouches beside their bed, tucking loose strands of hair behind the kids ears. they stir, but they do not wake. "they're growing so fast. feels like just yesterday they were crawling around all cute, huh? little bugs. i love watching them grow."

his smile is serene. when he looks at her, his eyes are full of love and adoration. and pride. suddenly it's clear as day he's never been more proud of her — for making it this far, despite everything.

"and i love you watching you grow, too. you're so radiant."

when she wakes, the smell of him lingers in the air. a gentle knock at the door — there 'lil' salem stands, a little black kitten held gingerly in his hands. his eyes are wide, his smile bright as ever.

"i found it in the hallway... it was coming for your room. i don't know where it came from." he gives the kitten a pet, and then hands it over to his mother with a smile. "were you... in our room by the way? i thought i felt you touch my face just now."

Willow often complains that when she wakes from dreams of Salem, he never quite looks how she remembers him. Always some minute detail giving her subconscious away, exposing her dream for what it is. This particular dream, though, is exactly right. She doesn't even realise she's asleep at all. Instead, this is a ghost -- or a world where he's come back.

Maybe it was the end of the world, and all of God's chosen have come back to settle on the remains of the Earth now that the bad has been bleached from it's bones. Maybe Salem has come back to her, after all, and maybe he will stay.

There's so much Willow wants to tell him. She can't seem to find the words. Can't even open her mouth, or hug him. She just nods; yes, I did name him after you. Looks at him with such tenderness when he says he's been watching; I've felt you every day. Missed you every second.

Her lip trembles. The time is too short. Soon enough she wakes to the soft knocking, her face buried in the pillow from Kenny's side of the bed. It's wet with tears she tries very hard to hide when little Salem enters the room with --

"Oh my God, is that a kitten?!" So small. She pulls Salem into the bed with her as he passes the small, purring creature over. Squeezing him tightly. God. It's been so long. Willow thinks about it a little more than she usually lets herself, and begins to cry. Quiet, shaking shoulders, a waterfall into little Salem's soft, brown hair.

He asks her what's wrong and she holds him tighter.

"I had a dream about the boy you're named after, little buck." Willow sniffles. "Did I ever tell you about him? He was the best friend I ever had..."

"ex-cuse me, little man! where's my hello kiss?" madge leans to the side, a crimson-painted nail tapping at her cheek gently. "i thought your pa' raised you to be a gentleman like him!"

she loves teasing @buckhartd -- bigger and bigger by the day, she reckons. charming little lad, adores watching him rush past her porch to pick the freshly grown wildflowers and stopping him in his tracks as he attempts to avoid paying the toll.