Ashes to ashes
by Belladonna
"…from earth we have come and earth we shall become again.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…"
The skies above the mansion had turned black, dark clouds covered the
otherwise beautiful blue background and a slight drizzle came down onto the
mourners who had gathered themselves for the funeral. They all stood behind the
mansion, a bit away behind the small hill where all their fallen comrades lay
buried. Today they had come together, again to bury one of them, one of their
fallen.
Every time before, it had been incredibly hard for them, painful and it
had been too many times but on this day it was so much more painful for it had
not only happened unexpectedly but it also had hit one of them, they never
thought it'd happen to. It had happened to the one man, they never believed it
would. But as so many times before, they were proved wrong.
Underneath many dark umbrellas they all wore black, as a sign of their
mourning. Some of them cried, others had decided to show their grief on
petrified faces, but there was one thing they all had in common. They all kept
asking themselves about the why, stunned and not able to believe it. Why had
this had to happen; but none of them, not a single one of them knew the answer
or had an explanation for the things that had happened. They just knew that it
had happened nonetheless.
In endless sorrow and deep silence they stood together there, the coffin
next to the open grave, waiting to be let down. They simply stood there and
waited for that the first one would begin to speak.
~/~
You have always set an example for us, been a mentor who had led all of
us with his knowledge but also with his wisdom. You have always taught us to
accept who we are and taught us to give our best, no matter how difficult the
things were, we had to face or how stony the way we had to go might have been.
You taught us how to control our powers and to use the things, we are able to
accomplish with them for the benefit of all mankind. Without you and your help
many of us, including me, probably would have fallen into despair, crushed
underneath all the difficulties and pain of our lives we had to endure only
because of what we were and just because we had nobody who would be there for
us with understanding and not fear. The fact that it not had come that far we
all owe just you.
You have offered us a life worth living for and that also was worth
fighting for and still is. But you have done so much more for us.
You not only have been our teacher, our mentor but also been like a
father for us. You have given us a family many of us never had and more. Your
school and all those you have taken in have grown to become a family, our
family and with that grown to be yours also. It always has been you who
believed in us and in all the others. You have fought for us with untiring
strength, you have been there for us and stood with us, no matter how hard the
challenges had been.
We had had to encounter much pain and sorrows in our lives, before and
even after we had come to you and that not just because of what we are. But we
have endured everything because we also were allowed to experience great joy
and happiness and all these memories make up for all the pain. Unfortunately
they cannot make up for all the tears we again have to shed now but maybe they
will help us to cope a bit better with your loss.
You have given us so much and never expected anything in return for it,
because you believed in the good in all of us, even if we could not see it at
some times. You have given us so much and never expected anything, but you
never had to for all we had become was always reward enough for you. And we
could not be more grateful for all this because without you we would not stand
where we are now, we'd not be what we have become.
But we never thanked you for all this and now it is too late for it
though I strongly believe that you always have known it. I believe have always
been able to see it, for you have always seen it in our hearts.
You always were the best of us, without you we'd never achieved so much
or would never have been able to make so much out of our lives. None of us can
believe it or understand that you now should no longer be with us.
Your loss is the most painful thing we ever had to endure but you will
never truly die. You will always live on in our hearts, within us and within
your dream, we still are living and fighting for.
~/~
The orator had decided against a common funeral oration and instead
spoken out loud what everyone of them felt, every one of the gathered mourners.
His voice trembling, he had faltered several times while he was speaking. No
one else spoke afterwards, but the orator already had said everything they
wanted to say but nonetheless there were so many things left to say, so much
that could not put into words, by none of them.
They all shared the feeling of deepest gratitude for everything the
deceased had done for them and it pained them deeply to have lost him so
abruptly, especially in the way it had happened. More tears ran freely down the
cheeks of the mourners and none of them was ashamed of them or of expressing
his or her emotions this way.
All supported each other, tried to give each other some comfort as the
white coffin was let down into the grave on strong ropes. The coffin was
decorated with roses, one for each one of them. They still could not believe
it, did not want to believe that he was dead but reality as bitter and painful
as it was, was clearly be seen in front of them, slowly vanishing into earth
with the coffin as it was lowered further into the open grave.
The rain had become stronger, heaven too was crying; mourning for a man
who was taken from life too early and from them. Each one of the mourners had
come to honour their mentor, the man who had been so much more than that for
them. They paid their last respects to him when each of them passed by the
grave and threw in a hand full of earth onto the coffin before they would
retreat so that each of them could deal with the grief over the loss of the man
that had meant more to all of them than their own lives.
~/~
Later the coffin would be buried fully, the grave closed for ever. The grave
stone already was finished and leaned towards a tree near the grave. It would
later remind of the man who had been buried here.
About the inscription in the stone there had been no doubts at all. They
all had agreed to the one they had chosen, for they could not have imagined
something more suitable. The rain poured down onto the stone, gently tracing
the letters on it, golden on black marble.
Professor Charles F. Xavier
Teacher, mentor, friend
One man,
not more nor less.
No one will ever replace him
~fin~
Ashes to ashes
By: Belladonna