Jon's Pyrenees Puzzle

A light rain fell on the gravesite. Jon heard it hitting the umbrellas of his parents, aunt and uncle as he stood at the edge of the grave. The priest finished his recitation, closing with a prayer for her soul. He said his farewells then left them alone. Jon took a deep breath before kneeling down to lay the flowers at the head of the grave. His mother's favorite, lilies.

It had been six years since she'd left them for that other world. She'd only been thirty-nine when she'd died. An early death by any measure but especially so for someone who was in perfect health until her heart had suddenly given out one morning while getting ready for work. It was a shock, a tragedy that they were still trying to get past.

Jon felt tears welling up in his eyes as he remembered the vibrant woman that had always filled their home with laughter. He could still picture her running around the yard with him and his sister when they were little making up all kinds of adventures like they do in those blockbuster movies people watch today. She loved those movies and had no problem filling their lives with them even if they were just ordinary people living ordinary lives.

She would make up stories about how they were working for the government or fighting crime or saving princesses from evil villains and all kinds of ridiculous things like that and not once did he ever feel embarrassed about it. He and his sister had both grown up knowing that ordinary was boring and anything was possible if you put enough time and effort into it no matter what anyone else might have said about it being impossible.

He thought back to how he and his sister had both gone on to pursue careers far beyond what their parents had expected of them; she worked for NASA and he was a trader on Wall Street working directly for one of the biggest investment firms in New York City. He'd made millions for himself in less than ten years and didn't even own any property, never owned a car, never married or even dated anyone outside of business meetings or networking events exactly because of what she'd taught them all those years ago when they were kids playing pretend in their backyard. Play hard, work harder and don't let anyone stand in your way because you can be anything you want if you're willing to work hard enough for it.

That's why he was here now, visiting her grave six years after her passing just as he did every year on this day; because she'd been right about everything she'd told him since before he could remember. He knew she wouldn't have wanted him to cry over her death but that didn't stop him from shedding tears as he knelt there by her side looking at her stone marker inscribed with her name, "Marie", followed by her birth date and death date along with a few other lines describing how much she meant to those who knew and loved her best.