Submitted to Flash Fiction for Aspiring Writers.

Joe had one final request that he wanted me to accomplish. Being his best friend I readily agreed.

I knew that Joe wanted to be cremated. That was no surprise. WHERE he wanted to be cremated was going to be an unexpected trip for me to the southwest. He wanted his ashes spread in a canyon near the New Mexico and Arizona border.

Three days after his death I found the canyon he had requested. I waited patiently for a few minutes so some tourist could get out of the way of my projected path. I saw the place at the top of a ridge that was perfect. What I did not see was the small rock that I tripped and stumbled on in the red dirt.

His ashes flew out of the urn and the wind took them west bound. Mission accomplished! Joe would have loved that send off.