"Johnny, your friend... he passed away didn't he?" Cherry said silently to Ponyboy as they sat on the bench.
    "Yeah, Dally too... he's also gone now," Ponyboy replied with a sunkene expression on his face. Ponyboy knew this was how this conversation was going to start out. This was five years after Johnny's death. After Johnny died, most of the gang got torn up, Dally and Johnny both, on the same night. It was too much. After the deaths Ponyboy tried to hide everything he thought about it. Johnny had considered Dally as a god, a saint. Ponyboy recalled the shy, expression on Johnny's face while with the rest of the gang and how it hardened as soon as a Soc came into view. The battered look he had after being beaten by his dad was weary and tired.
    "I'm sorry to hear that Ponyboy... That night Bob was drunk, I wish I could rewind it, to take back all the pain."
    "Like you said to me, the night we met, things are rough all over. It's time we start to live with it."
    "And now you and Darry are getting along, aren't you?"
    "Yeah, most of the time. We're good now. The gang is real beat up after Johnny's death though. It's like having someone that's always been there disappearing, a major part of your life, just gone. We miss him. Nervous wreck as he was, we all miss him. I doubt there wouldn't be anything we wouldn't give to have him back with us." Before I knew it, tears were running down my cheeks. I've never told anybody what I really thought after the event. I wanted to tell Cherry everything to just open up to her. People started staring at me now, people that were walking past. I was shamed of breaking down like this, but Johnny waas gone. "Cherry, life is unfair, the way the Socs and Greasers fight all the time. The war between both of our gangs. We risk everything and nothing. That night he passed away he told me to stay gold. To watch sunsets and to know that there's good in the world. Johnny left me a note asking me to tell Dally that there's still time to change, to become what we really want. I'm tired, Cherry, of all this fighting, all this useless trouble we go through."
    "Ponyboy, your friend Johnny saw what life really was, how important it really is, it was just too late for him. If there really is a future for the Socs and Greasers I want to be part of it. There probably are good people out there, people that would lend a hand despite the fact of you being a Greaser or Soc."
    As I thought over what Cherry just said, I realized it was true. It all happened too late for Johnny. He was the best buddy anyone could wish for. And the day he died he found out the world was good, it was something worth living for.
    "Cherry," I started, "Johnny wanted to see more, I know he did. Johnny didn't deserve to die. Those sixteen years he had weren't long enough, heck, he even said it himself, poor guy, he didn't get to see as much as he would like to."
    The part was starting to end. People, instead of milling around began to head back to their cars as it was getting dark. A slight drizzle started to fall from the partly cloudy sky. It felt nice and cold, washing away my tears. I don't know how long Cherry and I sat there. It seemed like hours, but it was probably only a few minutes. Only a couple of people were left and we decided to leave as well.
    "Ponyboy, hardships are everywhere, I hope you won't end up doing something stupid, like Dally or something outrageously heroic, like Johnny. You've been the only person that I've been able to talk to about things. Darry and Soda care about you. You should know that. The gang does too, we all care," Cherry said in a slightly quiet tone as she started to stand up.
    Getting to my feet myself, I got to my feet by pushing against the armrests of the now dampened bench. I stared up at the sky, while the bright sun slowly unravled itself from the veil of the clouds.
    "From now on Cherry, I am going to try to achieve what Johnny wanted to be, which was something more. It's going to be a new beginning." Later, Cherry and I each went home, but i kept on thinking about what Johnny said. His words were with me, keeping me away from dangerous things and telling me to be mindful of my actions. Sometimes it feels as if he's with me, always watching out for me. Sort of like a guardian angel. It's a strange feeling, and I know that his soul and words live on within all of us, the gang, Cherry, and me.