The next five rows behind Becca are all extended family that are wiping their eyes and pretending to cry. I hate them all. They didn't know me and even if they did I doubt they would've tried to help me. I start to walk down the aisle and look around. I see kids from school. Most of them didn’t even know my name; but here they are. Crying. Tears spilling down their faces. I turn away from them and look at my mom again. I kneel by her and watch her cry. It hurts to see but I can’t do anything about it. For the rest of the time I watch my mother. I can hear people getting up and talking about me; telling stories, both funny and sad. It's over pretty soon.
I stand up and turn back to the podium. And there I am. I look peaceful and calm. My hair is soft and lays gently on my shoulders. My skin is smooth and soft. The dress is one of my favorites; I wore it to prom with Becca and it was one of the best nights of my life. It's a creamy white color with a sparkly black overlay. She had on a flowy purple strapless dress with little sparkly flowers on it. I’m jerked out of the past when I see Becca stand shakily and walk up to the podium. My breath catches in my throat and I feel my eyes start to well up. I didn’t realize she was going to speak today. She looks down and her shoulders start to shake from held-back sobs. Finally, she looks up and takes a deep breath.
“Kasey is one of the strongest people I know. In all the five years we’ve been together I’ve never met someone stronger. But I guess I misjudged that strength. I tried to help her but she was weaker than I expected. And when it came time for me to lean on her for support she broke. She was selfish and in the end it destroyed her.” I watched as she broke down in sobs. Not quiet, delicate sobs, but I-can't-go-on-anymore sobs. I put a hand to my mouth as I let out a choked gasp. Becca stumbled down from the podium and ran to her brother. I sank to my knees as I felt tears stream down my face for the first time that day. I felt my shoulders shake as the weight of it all came crashing down on me for the first time. After a while I stood up shakily and walked over to the podium. I ran my hand along the casket and looked in. I took in a shuddered breath as I saw the face looking up at me, eyes closed peacefully. Lips a pale pink, parted slightly. Face pale of color, cold to the touch. A girls face. A young woman's face. My face.
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Fiona Ella
Jun 10, 2017
Oof. I really didn't see that coming. So powerful. This is heart-wrenching, and I like how you don't come right out and say too much openly; it works best, in this case, letting the audience figure out what's going on for themselves. Really powerful. Nice work.