Page 82 of Two Daddies for Little Jenna

"You'll remember her forever, won't you, my sweet boy?" John said, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

John continued when he nodded. "And remember what Little Clayton used to say?"

Clayton was Elijah's Daddy's boy before he met Elijah. He'd named a pizzeria after him when his boy died. He was Michael's first Little friend and he'd been devastated over his death.

"You never really die," Michael said. "For matter can neither be created nor destroyed."

"The Princess you know might not be here anymore," John said. "But she'll always be a part of the universe."

Once he'd calmed down, his Daddy handed him the coffin and led him to the hole in the ground. Everyone took turns saying nice things about her before he put the coffin in the ground.

"I've never stayed a day without this," he whispered, looking down at his stuffed wolf one last time before sneaking it in the box. "But don't you worry, now. I have my Daddy to keep me company. He'll get me a new one just like this. This will be a reminder of how much Daddy and I loved you, that no matter where we are, we'll always be thinking of you."

Burying up the coffin, he took a deep breath as the Daddies patted him on the back to stay strong one by one before they headed inside. He led us to the pier by the lake in the backyard, taking a seat as we dipped our feet in the water.

"She was very protective of you, you know," Elijah added. "Remember how she barked at my pet bear thinking you were in grave danger? She looked like she was going to pass out from the stress of losing you. But she bit onto your jammies and tried her best to get you away from danger."

Michael smiled. "Yup, that was my Princess. Always brave in the face of danger. Putting my own safety before hers. I can't believe I'll have to refer to her in the past tense from now on. I've seen so many loved ones die in my lifetime. My father, Little Clayton, uncle Bradley, and Princess. Sometimes it makes me wonder if life has any meaning at all. What if we're just meaninglessly marching towards our death? How can anything matter if no one makes it out alive in life anyway? Every time I attend a funeral I think the passing of time is the most tragic thing ever."

"You know," I said, turning to him. "I craved the sweet release of death back in the cult when I was locked up in the basement for months. I felt trapped, unable to escape my cruel fate. But life was given a new meaning when I met my Daddies, and I have the passing of time to thank for it, for it let me leave behind my abusive past. Maybe life's purpose is to discover what makes you happy and keep doing it. Maybe the pursuit of happiness itself is enough of a life purpose. We all found our happiness in our Daddies. Love makes life worth living, and it's the only thing that can transcend time. You can love someone who was in the past and not with us anymore. I guess what I'm saying is, life is like a movie. It isn't about the destination. It's about the journey. After all the efforts, even if the masked man ends up killing me, it'll all be worth the journey I took when I decided to run away from home. Because there's something the masked man can't take away from me even in death. He can't take away all the happy moments I had with my Daddies and you guys."

Michael looked sad again as he stuck his lower lip out in a pout. "Don't you worry, Jenna. We Littles have formed a pact to keep you safe at all costs. We've been checking through the windows to ensure no one's following us. We've all been on high alert."

Elijah nodded. "Michael's been holding these secret meetings where he's been training us in basic fight moves he's learned from YouTube videos. We're a hopeless bunch when it comes to fighting, but we've got a great trainer."

That was the sweetest thing they'd ever done for me. As much as I believed it was about the journey, I hoped I had a long journey ahead. I wanted to be there for them through the hard times in their lives to pay them back for their kindness.

"Yeah," Kristen agreed. "Every time we feel like we need some rest, Michael reminds us time is of the essence in keeping you safe. He sucks on his binky and crawls around the gym room, pushing us to train harder."

Kristen too? Now I was getting teary-eyed. I guess deep down she didn't want the worst for me.

Michael blushed as he scratched his head. "You guys, it was supposed to be a secret. We made a pact not to tell Jenna until after we'd done all the ass-kicking. She was supposed to be surprised when we used our combat moves."

"Thank you, Michael." I threw my arms around him first and sniffled, then wrapped my arms around the rest of them. "Thanks, everyone. But your Daddies need you. They wouldn't be able to live without you. You should listen to them and keep yourselves safe in the face of danger. You haven't seen the masked man. He's so much bigger than any of us, and he won't hesitate before stabbing people to death."

Michael scoffed. "Well, he hasn't seen the wrath of us Littles. We'll do anything to keep our friend safe. Judging by how fiercely I've been training us, he'll go crying to his Daddy when he faces us."

"I don't know what happens after death," I said in the silence that followed. "But I like to think Princess is watching over us. Do you think animals go to heaven too?"

"They better," Elijah said. "I don't want to go to heaven if my pets aren't around. I hope I get to meet my mother there too. She died giving birth to me. I like to think she's watching over me too."

There was more silence as we kicked our feet in the water.

"We're all alive now," Michael said. "That itself should be cause enough for celebration. We forget how short life is. We should fill it with love. Instead, we busy ourselves with fighting with each other and harboring hatred, like your old neighbors who won't stop yelling at each other all day. People consider money the most valuable thing, but it's actually time. Time is constantly ticking. Each passing second is a second lesser that you'll ever get to spend with your loved ones."

Kristen let out a sigh and shook her head. "That's true. Jenna, I'd like to apologize for coloring your hair. There's this impulsive part of me that's always angry and I let it take control sometimes. I'd promise to be better next time, but I just don't know how. Do you forgive me?"

Kristen was apologizing for her behavior and she meant it? It was turning out to be such a strange day.

I slowly nodded. "Just make sure you keep trying to fight that side of you."

"Do you have something to say to me too?" She asked expectantly.

"I'm sorry we went a little extreme with our revenge," Michael said and I agreed. "Elijah's your best friend and we shouldn't have brought him into this."

"You know what we should do?" I said, pushing a hand forward. "Why don't we come to meet here at Princess' grave every year on this day to celebrate the lives of everyone we've lost? What better way to keep their memories alive?"

"Great idea," Elijah said, putting his hand on mine, and soon the rest of the gang followed.