The Return Of The Army Of Light – Excerpt – Inspired by King’s Fate – Prince’s Future – Kralahome’s Demise – Anna’s Surprise

I went into the Green Lantern not knowing what to expect or how I would react to the tribute montage Ariel had created. In the thumb drive I gave him, there were photos and a video of Anwaar and me, capturing the important events and mementos from the 16 years we spent together.

We stepped into the same viewing room we had watched Marc’s show the weekend before.

“Take your time.” Ariel said while he set up the DVD player. He handed me the remote and left me alone in the screening room.

My eyes filled with tears in anticipation to watch Ariel’s interpretation of my life with Anwaar. I hit play.

A parade of images of Anwaar dissolved among each other. There he was as a baby, a toddler; with his parents, on his first day of school, with his grandparents, ice-skating with his siblings in central park. I saw Anwaar grow from a child, to a young man, to an adult. I was reminded of his graduation from University, his first day at work, his last birthday. Dozens of photos of us through the years; such as our last summer in Fire Island, Christmas 2000, New Year’s Eve 1999, Ramadan 1997, our trip through Europe in 1995, moving into our new apartment in 1993, an autumn stroll through Central Park in 1991, a road trip to California in 1989, planting in a community garden in 1987, and where it all began, our photo with Yul Brynner in 1985.

The montage ended with a video of Anwaar and me dancing at sunrise, on a beach in Fire Island during the Fourth of July weekend in 2000. That was the day of our Commitment Ceremony, which naturally did not have any legal meaning, but it was an occasion we wanted to share with our parents, relatives and a small group of friends. We partied and danced all night, then in the early morning, we all walked to the beach and as the last little star left the sky, we renewed the unspoken vows we had made throughout the 15 years we had shared so far. The video faded to black as Anwaar and I kissed.

I stared at the black screen for few seconds; a feeling of gratitude inundated my body. I have had such a splendid and blessed life with Anwaar, but it was time to move on. I removed the DVD from the player and walked out of the room. I popped my head in Ariel’s edit suite to thank him.

“That was so beautiful.” I said with tears in my eyes. “Thank you.”

“Oh, don’t mention it. I didn’t do much.” Ariel played it down. “You were the ones with a stellar life.”

I shook his hand and left the Green Lantern to attend my next appointment.