I Couldn't Believe it Was Me
Continuation of Part Two: After
Chapter 18.
Frantic and sad, the next week didn’t go so well…
obviously. It was weird not hearing him snoring during the night
or him coming downstairs half naked. Mom had a different face,
too. Her eyes were sunken and she had purple bags underneath
them. Dad was the one who tried to keep the family together. He
did his best at making conversation at dinner or making random
jokes or telling stories about weird people he saw walking on the
sidewalks on the way to work. He managed to get a few smiles, but
it wasn’t normal.
Obviously it wasn’t normal.
How would it be normal?
What was normal?
His funeral was today. That sure wasn’t normal.
“Willow,” Mom said, walking into my room, “Are
you ready? We have to go now.”
“I’ll never be ready!” I cried, shutting the
door furiously in her face. Mom knocked frantically at the door
as I slipped on a black dress and tights. Then, I opened the door
so fast that mom almost fell. We walked past the closed door that
leads into Jake’s room: the closed door that hasn’t
been opened since he died.
We got into the car and drove to the funeral home where anyone
that knew Jake could go. There were so many people there; so many
people that cared about him. I saw his entire basketball team,
including the coach. Most of the teachers he’s had, all his
friends, David, a few workers from local stores that knew him;
they were all there. It was like the entire town was there.
A lot of people said things and at the end, everyone walked up to
his coffin in a line and said their good byes. It was awkward,
especially because I was the only one who didn’t go up
there.
A lot of people came up to my mom, my dad and I, all saying the
same thing: “I’m so sorry for your lose,” and
“I’ll pray for your family,” even though we
weren’t much of a religious household.
We thanked them.
Then a black hearse drove the coffin to the cemetery where the
close family would go and watch his body be lowered into the
ground. We drove the fifteen-minute trip behind that car, silent
and gloomy.
The coffin was to be buried on top of a hill, overlooking the
rest of the cemetery and the small town. A few men carried the
coffin up the hill, as our family gathered around the rectangular
hole in the ground.
It really was a beautiful day. There was one fluffy cloud in the
sky and the rest was a bright blue. The sun was shining, lighting
up the colors of the leaves and illuminating the grass to a
sparkling green glow. There was a little breeze, just enough to
hear the branches on the trees rustling and the sound of a gentle
wind in your ears. It was one of those days where Jake would go
skateboarding on the road or jogging in the park. It was a happy
day.
Mom looked at me with sad eyes, prying me on to say the words I
had prepared.
I coughed and began.