A/N: Once upon a time, I volunteered for the BoM fandom Secret Santa pool. I received my prompt, but I never acted upon it. In fact, I sat on it until I had almost forgotten it. And then, I wrote this.
No matter how lame, and short, this attempt might be, I'm (kind of) fulfilling my obligation. This is freedom, yo.
The prompt was about Elder Thomas's family discovering that his younger sister had cancer, but I changed the topic up just a little bit. I hope that's not cheating.
So I'm going to tell you
about a funeral
and of course
this story is not simple
(as stories rarely are)
and of course
other things
were involved.
But the funeral, everyone
will remember.
On the
day of the funeral
it was very bright
as in
headachy,
they-swam-in-undistilled-sunshine
bright
and a little humid
as it is when sun and rain mingle.
And Chris
and his parents
were dressed in their finest
to see
Emma
Thomas
away.
But,
as it is
merely a showpiece,
the smashing of
a wine bottle
on a
departing ship,
the ceremony
could not have significance
except in
the minds of
the living,
who needed
no burial
to cross the Thames.
As it was,
it was beautiful.
Perhaps that was
the point.