Introduction
The sound of a bugle playing Taps pierced through the soft plops of rain drops upon the burial ground. A girl of no more than seventeen years of age stood dressed in all black. Her tanned skin wet from standing without an umbrella. She had refused one earlier due to not wanting people to see her tears as she stared at the casket a few feet in front of her. The American flag was folded with the blue field and stars resting on the part of the casket that was at the head of her brother and above his left shoulder. He was only Twenty-seven years old when he was killed overseas fighting for the United States. The moment the bugle ended its slow song full of sadness, the six military men marched to stand next to the casket after assembling their rifles in two different tri-stands.
The six Military men stood for a moment an equal distance from each other as they started to move as one, each one picking up their section of the American Flag. From there they started to fold the flag in half before folding it in half once more. From that point on the flag was slowly and carefully folded thirteen times into a triangular shape. Being folded this way the only part of the flag that was visible was the blue field with the stars, all of the stripes were hidden from view. The flag was held with the point of the triangle facing down as the soldier straightened and smoothed out the edges, making the flag look as perfect as he could. Once the soldier was done, he solemnly handed it back to the taller male in front of him. The flat of the triangle towards his upper body, where he held it as he was saluted.
Emily Verdone stared straight at the Military man who had once fought alongside her late brother. She tried to present herself as strong as she stood as still as she could, swallowing slightly as her eyes watered up again. She knew what was coming and did her best to keep from breaking down into tears as she watched the male slowly walk towards her, the point of the triangle facing his body now. As he stood in front of her, she took a step towards him, holding her hands out with her palms facing towards the sky, her elbows bent at about a ninety degree angle. The flag presenter let the flag rest in her hands before his voice spoke out in what seemed to be a calm and solemn manner.
"This flag is presented on behalf of a grateful nation and the United States Army as a token of appreciation for your brother's honorable and faithful service."
She thanked him quietly as she continued to let the flag rest in her hands, the rain seeming to come down a bit more now upon her. She hated this but it was necessary to honor her last remaining family member. Once she was allowed to hold the flag fully, her hands held it to her chest, the tip facing the ground before she gave a small salute to the flag presenter, a small thank you to the others before bowing ever so slightly to all of them. Standing straight back up once more before she took two steps back. The funeral continued on for another hour after that, a small chill reaching her bones as everyone said their final goodbyes.
Once the funeral had let out, Emily couldn't help but stay behind. She knew eventually she'd find her way back to a place to call home. Matthew's place was gone, so she'd stayed with a family friend, Alexander. He had served a two year term in the military, but due to injuries to his leg he had been honorably discharged. It was then that a gentle hand was placed upon her shoulder. Watery sky blue eyes glanced back and up at the older male as she nodded slightly. Alexander knew she'd need some time. He had treated her as a younger sister that he'd never had, so he knew all of the hardships she had gone through. Even though she hardly talked, it wasn't hard to tell by her body language what she wanted.
Kneeling at her brother's grave, clutching the folded flag to her chest; she finally allowed her tears to drop down as she ran her hand over the grave, marking her brothers' final resting place. She wasn't quite sure what to do now really…. Though for her young mind at the moment, she figured staying close to the cemetery would be a decent idea. That was only because she wanted to stick close to her family. It was a good year since she lost her parents, and only two months since Matthew had been killed in the line of duty. She was a bit sick of losing people she was close to.
Standing up once more she decided that from this day forward she'd come up with a plan on how to support herself. She knew that due to her being the final family member, she'd get the money in a few months from everyone's will. But she wasn't quite worried about that, it wasn't all that much, but with a compensation that the government was giving to her family for his death, she knew she could get a small apartment at least. She refused to spend anything simply because she would want to save it as best she could. It would be what her family would have wanted her to do anyway.
With a sigh and a heavy heart, she turned her back to the four aligned tombstones, her parents graves both having a mixed bouquet for each grave, however both Joshua and Matthew's graves had American flags symbolizing their duty to their country. As she walked away slowly, she felt the rain ease up, eventually stopping as she continued to leave Green-Wood cemetery. It would be a few years until she would return back to this place, even though she'd never leave New York.