Neither one of us spoke until we reached the clearing at the end of the dirt path. Honestly, I don't understand why he suddenly wanted to keep his distance from me. He kept a steady pace ahead of me and showed no signs of slowing down. 

But, what worried me more was how silent he was. I hadn’t known this man for more than an hour or so, but even I could tell how unusual it was. 

For such a talkative and outgoing man to suddenly go silent and distant, didn’t sit right with me. It hadn’t really dawned on me until now, that I didn’t really know this man at all. 

I had walked into a secluded area with no one knowing where I was, with no one other than him around, and to make it better we were on our way to a cemetery. If this man had planned to kill me then I should probably just let him. How could I, of all people, be so stupid?

“What's taking you so long? We are here.” The man looked back at me with a smile, not a sinister one, but the kind and gentle one from earlier. A wave of relief washed over me, making me realize that amidst all my self reflecting (or stupidity) I had forgotten to keep walking. My mind had completely taken over my ability to do anything other than overthink. 

I laughed nervously, “Sorry about that.” I had to jog a little bit to catch up to him. My mind almost made me forget that it was all just speculation. The man had not given me a reason to doubt him, but that didn’t mean that I should blindly trust him either. But to consider the man guilty without reason, isn’t right either. But the fact I had even trusted him from the beginning, surprised me more. 

The cemetery was huge with many, many tombstones with some even dating back almost two centuries. You would think such an old cemetery would look run down but that wasn’t the case at all. It had appeared to be untouched by time. Every tombstone, even the older ones, seemed to be well kept even though the visitors most likely laid beside them. 

Unlike the tall gate that blocked off the entrance to the road, there was only the vast woods surrounding the cemetery. While I always imagined a cemetery to be a scary place, I found a strange comfort walking through it. It was quiet, except for the birds that chirped every so often. It felt as if I had entered the most peaceful place on earth.

We continued to walk along until we reached the last tombstone in the row. It had a fresh mound of dirt on top, but you almost couldn't see it from all the flowers that covered it. 

It was beautiful the day they buried her, but the flowers had begun to decay due to the cold.  To others it might have reminded them of how life was fleeting, but to me it was another reminder of what she had intended for me. 

The old man looked over at me with a sorrowful expression. His mouth kept opening as if he wanted to say something but the words just wouldn’t come out. Eventually he reached out his hand, placing it on my shoulder. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to brace me, or himself, for what he was about to say.

In a soft but clear voice he finally spoke,

“You're the reason she died, aren't you?”