In Memory of Malcolm-Jamal Warner and John Michael (Ozzy) Osbourne

The river took them all, for that was its purpose - to hold them gently, feeling weightless in the remembering and letting go. There was no undertow here and no fear in the whirls and rushes, for the water was the ending of all that began and also beginnings without end. It was like air for those not quite ready to fly. The actor was strong and stout of heart; when he came to the bend, he felt the call to shore and off he went to meet those gathered at the edge holding a soft robe and flowers to welcome him gladly. As he stepped out, the river pulled his frustration and confusion into itself, turning it to glass pebbles it arranged along the bottom. The singer hummed to himself, pulling out and sitting for a time on a flat rock covered with tiny flowers; sometimes, it was harder to get your bearings, more challenging to feel steady enough to untether and trust. He dangled his feet in the river as he sang, and it worked in tiny laps and spirals to help him concentrate and gain clarity. The river would eventually bring sleep and reclaim him, moving him along while it turned his pain to black sand. All things returned to the water, returned to the beauty of their forming, and the river was honored to take them all.