Chapter 2— Funeral

This was a different life, William thought to himself; different indeed! Marriage had always been a scary path for him, but, he was married to the most beautiful girl in the world-- to the love of his life. The newlyweds lived in a one bedroom apartment on Love lane.

William was informed of his father's death, it had been ten years since he last saw his Father. The old man did not witness his son's wedding. Old man Johnson hated the path in life his son had chosen, he was a well-respected man in the society; a feared one. Everyone knew about the Johnsons on Mermaid street. One day, when William decided to leave his parents in pursuit of his freedom, Mr Johnson threatened his son that if he leaves, he wasn't to step his feet into the mansion again, despite the threat, William left, his action had broken his Father's heart and William never stepped his feet into the mansion for a long time. But on November 3rd, William would terrifyingly step foot into the Johnsons old mansion again.

"Come on Will, you just have to be there in respect of your dad, Hm?" Amelia tried to motivate her husband to be at his father's funeral.

"I stayed away for ten years, ten years, Amelia!" He weeped. "I just left him, I never called nor wrote to him, I never cared and now, I'll never get the opportunity to say I'm sorry". The young man sobbed some more.

"You know what?!" Amelia whispered in the room,

"What?!" Will questioned. Amelia wiped the tears off her husband's face and hugged him gently.

"The dead sees all who's present at their burial", she told him. William stared weakly into Amelia's smiling eyes, she rested her hands on his shoulder only for a few seconds, then moved one of her palms and gently lifted Will's chin with it.

"When your Father sees you at his burial, he'll know you cared, and surely, he'll forgive you, eh?", William dropped his eyes to the floor, trying to soak in his wife's words into his heart.

"You really think so?",

"I know so!" She emphasized. Will looked up into his wife's face, searching,

"How do you know? Have you been dead before?", they laughed.

"No, it's just a family belief. Come on, think about!", she playfully tugged at his arm. William released a smile.

"Oh alright, I'll go. I can do this!"

"Yeah you can! I'll come with you", she paused, "Let's go change, shall we?", Amelia stood up from her seat and extended a hand to the man seated by her. "Let's go!" William took her hand and was led to the bathroom.

They all stood around the black, shiny coffin which was laid beside a dug, rectangular shaped hole. There was a white man in a black suit and a tie giving a lovely speech. He praised late Mr Johnson for all he had done for a lot of people in the town of Rye. He took their minds back into the past, into the times they all had spent with Johnson.

Some of the people present quietly weeped and wiped off the tears with a handkerchief, some sobbed, some stood there thinking of when the ceremony would end so they could go back home, some quietly watched and listened to the preacher, while there were others who wailed-- making a scene. Mrs Johnson wore a long, black gown with black gloves and a hat, she looked really sad, her eyes were full of pain. Standing beside her, were her two daughters Monica and Viola, they were William's younger sisters. They stood by their old mother on either side of her hands, firmly holding their Mother, consoling her.

Just then, William and Amelia arrived. Silently, they strolled through the fields, coming up closer to the others. Everyone's faces swiftly turned in their direction.

"The day of death is a black day! Mr Johnson was survived by his wife-- Mrs Johnson, his three children, his relatives, friends, well-wishers and his neighbours on the beautiful Mermaid street. Today, we say goodbye to a husband, a father, brother and a friend, we say goodbye to a Legend! It is truly sad, but today is also joyous, for the prodigal son, has returned!", the preacher ended his speech.

All eyes were still on Will and his wife and William could feel his heart racing ferociously. They kept their distance away from others. William only cared about the face he saw in the coffin-- his powerful father was truly dead! The corpse laid still and frozen in the shiny, black box. The old man's dark skin had turned daker and grey, he was nicely dressed in a black suit and trousers, his hands were crossed on top of his body, he was a sleeping gentleman.

William turned away and laid his head on his wife's shoulder, Amelia wrapped her arms around him and gently patted his back. After a few moments, the coffin was closed, then gently lowered into the rectangle hole. The coffin rested at the bottom of the grave, sitting on the soil. Viola and Monica released their mother and came forward and stood closely to the grave. William was directed by the preacher to join his sisters. He bent down and took a little scoop of sand from the heap of sand that sat quietly on the ground. William threw his scoop of sand into the grave, then the women did the same.

The ceremony ended and the scene was abandoned to the Johnson's.

"William is that you?" Mrs Johnson asked, her voice shook.

"Yes mum, it's me" William sighed in return, looking shamefully at the grass. Contemplatively, William walked to his Mother stopping closely in front of her.

"Hey mum, I--" he was shockingly interrupted with a sounding slap on his face from his Mother's old palms. It sent a stinging pain down his spine.

"That's for abandoning your parents all these years!"

"Mum!" William gasped. Another palm of the old woman, came flying down on Will's face, this time bringing regretful tears to his eyes.

"And that is for not informing your Father nor your own Mother of your wedding. Do you even know how that feels like?!"

"Mum I'm sorry please forgive me, I was young and selfish, I--"

"Not another word!" She interrupted her son, raising a finger in front of his face. William could only stare at the grass, Amelia stood a few metres behind them with folded hands against her chest.

Unexpectedly, Mrs Johnson threw her long, slender arms around William's shoulder hugging him tightly to her chest, "I've missed you Will" she exhaled. William was still in shock but he regained his body and returned the hug, bending slightly down to his Mother's height, his head rested on her shoulder. They both cried.