’til the cows come home (a drabble)

“Them cows are lost?” Piper persisted.

“There are no actual cows— it's just a stupid saying. Go to sleep!” Harmony snapped at her little sister.

Piper's wheezing exhalations filled their darkened bedroom.

Harmony's tone softened, “It just means… ‘for a very long time’. Maybe forever. Nobody knows.”

Drifting to sleep, Piper whispered, “Harmony, I'm gonna love ya ’til the cows come home.”

Eventually, Harmony found the strength to visit. With kissed fingertips touching cold gravestone, she wept, “Love you, Piper.”

Approaching her car, Harmony cried out and fell to her knees.

On the hood, scrawled in the fresh snow:

ttcch