Disclaimer: I do not own the song.

Un jour je vous reverrai avec ce grand beau sourire.

~*~"Come on grandfather! Come on!" A young raven-haired girl called to an older man. Eager to get to the ice cream shop which stood cheerfully on the other side of the street. Pulling on his hand, she tugged him across the street smiling and laughing as she waved to people on the street. The older man pushed the door open to the happy little shop and walked to the counter, swinging the little girl onto the counter.

"What will it be today, my little Akira?" He asked his granddaughter gently, looking at her fondly.

"I want to have what you're going to have grandfather!" She replied, her green eyes shining brightly as she watched her grandfather smile at her. "What?"

"I'm going to get pistachio." He teased her, his brown-green eyes showing laughter and joy.

"No, grandfather don't! Get Chocolate!" The child pleaded him, bouncing on the counter.

"Alright, alright Akira. Hold your horses." He laughed, the old man ordered two chocolate cones and walked to a table with the young girl, hand in hand and sat down looking out the window.

The little girl had stopped licking her cone and watched her grandfather looking out. "Grandfather?" She started, turning her cone in her hands and looking at it. "My fairy friend, Thistle, says angels are real. Is that true?"

"Of course!" The old man looked at her, sounding surprised. "Your friend is a smart fairy. And now Akira, it's time to ask yourself, do you think they are real."

The seven-year old thought about it for a minute until she looked up and beamed at him. "Yeah! I do think they are real!" The girl exclaimed going back to her cone.~*~

The memory came to mind, unwanted yet wanted at the same time. It was seven years ago that that moment had occurred and I still long for it. I wish for it, wish to be locked in that moment forever and for always. It will never come back, so all I can do is hold onto it for dear life.

Here I stand now, by his grave, surrounded by the people he loved and had loved him back. Though I doubt any can compare to the pain I feel now. Cry? No, I can't. I have to stay strong, for my sake and for his.

"My strong little Akira."

I still can hear his voice as he tells me that. I would get hurt, a scratch even, and he would patch me up using a Sesame Street Band-Aid to cover it up. He'd tell me not to cry, nothing would happen. Even when I had the crazy notion that a troll would come and try to yank off my Band-Aid, he would tell me that if it tried he would be facing a vengeful grandfather.

Someone throws a flower on his coffin. Dark Red. The color of his blood. I close my eyes as I picture the horrific scene now.

~*~My grandfather would have been in his room had it not been he had left his tea in the kitchen. As he was walking into the kitchen, someone was trying to break into the front door, though he couldn't hear it someone was. It was raining heavily and the rain hit the windowpane with no warning of the events that would happen next. My grandfather probably made his way to the stairs before the front door swung open and a young man dove into the house and pounced on him. They struggled for a bit before the man was sent rolling backwards as my grandfather got to his feet. Little to my grandfather's knowledge there was a knife in the man's pants pocket. Then the sudden shock that my grandfather must have felt as the cool metal blade of the knife slid cleanly through his flesh and unmercifully punctured his heart. He staggered backwards and removed the dagger from his chest, gazing into his hands he must have saw the crimson colored of his warm blood. The other man must have ran out the front door, seeing what he had done he might have fled for pure fear of being caught. ~*~

Damn that bastard. Why did he have to kill my grandfather? They never caught him.

I look at my mother; she has tears running down her face as she speaks words that I can barely hear. "He was a brave and strong all loved him." Bits of what I was able to catch. Another crimson rose thrown, but I held onto mine tightly. I didn't want to believe he was dead.

~*~A five-year old girl came threw the door running and crying at the same time. She ran into the den where her grandfather sat doing some work. "Grandfather! The birdie died!" she wailed.

"What? Now how is that possible?" He murmured as he stood and picked up the little girl in his arms and taking her to the birdcage. "Now, Akira, tell me, where is this bird that you proclaim is dead?"

"I-I don't know." She whimpered into his shoulder. "The birdie isn't in the cage so it's dead."

"No, no, no, ma petite princesse. You see the petit oiseau just decided to take a small flight." The old man answered the sobbing child. He whistled and held his arm out as a small red and yellow bird came flying threw a window. "There, there pas plus ne déchire." He told her.

"Okay, grandfather." She responded, delighted that the bird had come back and was now hoping onto her hand.~*~

I remember how he made everything look like magic. How he could cheer me up using French words and a smile. Rain began to fall and my mother had turned to me to ask what was wrong. She placed a hand on my shoulder but I shrugged it off. She wouldn't understand what was going through my head at the moment. I wish I could have tried to speak French with him, not that that would have been a problem.

The ceremony was ending; a few of the people that had come were leaving. The women were crying; infants snuggled against them as the men led them to the car. The last of the roses were thrown onto the coffin as it was lowered into the hole that was dug in the ground. My mother asked me if I wanted to come home with her but I refused to move. I stood there, staring at the grave; my father told me it was improper for a fourteen-year old girl to stand here and stare at a grave.

I'm so tired of being here

Suppressed by all my childish fears

And if you have to leave

I wish that you would just leave

Cause your presence still lingers here

And it won't leave me alone

I know I'll never forget this man. He was probably the best thing in this world that I have, had and wanted in all my life.

These wounds won't seem to heal

This pain is just too real

There's just too much that time can not erase

No one will ever be able to replace this man that was so special to me. He did everything for me. He'd put a band -aid on me, cheer me up when I was down, got me ice cream on a cold day even.

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you screamed I'd fight away all of your fears

And I held your hand through all of these years

But you still have all of me

am I able to face the world today without you? How am I going to survive without you? You've helped through thick and thin. Stood by me since the day I was born. You taught me to think, to believe in what I want to believe in.

You used to captivate me by your resonating mind

Now I'm bound by the life you left behind

Your face it haunts my once pleasant dreams

Your voice it chased away all the sanity in me

These wounds won't seem to heal

This pain is just too real

There's just too much that time can not erase

I know your presence will never leave me. It'll linger here, in my heart, where it will always have a home. Your face will be in my dreams where I can see it. Your voice will be in my ears where I can here you. And your words will give me courage to continue my Journey.

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you scream

I'd fight away all of your fears

And I held your hand through all of these years

But you still have all of me

I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone

But though you're still with me

I've been alone all along

When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears

When you screamed I'd fight away all of your fears

I held your hand through all of these years

But you still have all of me

I felt . They finally fell, freely and landed at the ground of my feet. Even through the biting cold of the rain as it fell, I felt my tears, warm. I tasted them, salty. I fell to my knees, clutching the rose to my chest as the tears fell more freely, the sobs shaking me. And then I promised I would make it through this world.

"Je t'aime grand-père. Un jour je vous verrai avec ce grand beau sourire..." I whispered.