Promise Kept

 

Promise Kept

Noel Laflin

9-15-22

We came from both far and near and spanned in ages from fifty to eighty-five.

Two had driven in from another state, four of us from not so far away, and his lover had flown across the wide Pacific just to make this last pilgrimage – fulfilling a final request – a need to bring him home to the land of his youth, a place he loved – a fervent need on all our parts to keep a sacred promise.

And so seven of us met up (a lucky number in that respect), and slowly made our way through pine and fir, oak and dogwood, eventually reaching a point that took in a view that stretched to lonely distant desert far below.  But we were high above the heat and haze, taking comfort in mild mountain air, surrounded by tall trees and dark red-barked manzanita, feeling grateful to be on such a serene, wind-kissed plateau.

After first reading a prayer from one who could not be present, but who was there in spirit, I then took off the small black daypack that had ridden across my back as we made our way to this final spot and withdrew the bag of ashes.

On his last visit here, oh, not so many years ago, he had whispered to three of us that this was where he wished to rest when all was said and done.  I think he knew that time was no longer on his side and he wanted to make sure that those he trusted would carry out a final wish. We made a solemn vow that day that we would see to it – half joking, half hoping, that it would be him that would outlive us all.

But he already knew that would not be the case.  And he was right, as usual.

It was a proper resting spot for a man that one in our small band called brother, another called cousin, one - especially one - who knew him as husband, and for the rest of us … well, we simply called him friend. For one of us, best friend.

And lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the beautiful plateau, and the new dust sprinkled across its rocky shoulder, was a place where a promise was kept – one year to the day of his having left seven behind, just so he could get here first, take in the view, and wait for the rest of us to finally catch up.