CHAPTER 47 Funeral

Teresa stood in the cemetery with her family, and the Cranes standing opposite them. She looked at Fox who was wearing a pair of sunglasses. She wished he was standing beside her instead. She never needed him this much in her life.

"My baby boy is gone..he's never coming back."

She kept whispering the same thing over and over and over.

Would you know my name, if I saw you in Heaven?
Would it be the same, if I saw you in Heaven?
I must be strong an carry on,
Cause I know I don't belong,
Here in Heaven,

Would you hold my hand, if I saw you in Heaven?
Would you help me stand if I saw you in Heaven?
I'll find my way through night and day,
Cause I know I can't stay,
Here in Heaven,

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"He is gone Teresa."

"No, don't say that, Fox. He can't be."

She fell to her knees beside Ethan's lifeless body. She never realized just how small he still was. She took his little hand in hers and squeezed it.

"Hold on baby, hang on. I love you, sweetie."

Fox looked at Teresa feeling his heart breaking. They finally heard the sirens of the ambulance and a police car pulled over next to them.

"Luis!"

She got up and ran to her brother.

"Do something, please."

Luis leaned over the little boy and searched for a pulse. He looked up at Teresa and didn't know what to say to her. He heard her scream and scream her pain and rage.

"My son, my son.."

Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees,
Time can break your heart, have you begging please,
Begging please,

Beyond the door, there's peace I'm sure,
And I know there'll be no more,
Tears in Heaven,

Luis was by her side as the body was covered and about to be taken away. Something caught her eye for an instant. The ball he was chasing around. Then her vision went blurry and she didn't see or hear anything. There was only darkness around her.

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"Teresa, you should sit."

Luis could feel his sister's body going limp, like she was about to pass out. She wasn't listening to the priest. She was too caught up in her pain. She tried to put on a brave face, but he knew it was too much for her to handle. He worried about her.

***************************

Fox was looking at Teresa behind his shades. He kept rethinking what happened the day their son died. If they hadn't had that stupid fight, none of this would have happened. His conscience was heavy with guilt. He thought of all the things he wanted to show his son, like shooting hoops or throwing a baseball. He had bought him a catching glove a few days before and had planned on giving it to him. He looked at it, holding it in his hands. It was going in the grave along with his son's tiny coffin.

He looked at Teresa again and knew how hard she was trying to put a brave face on. he wanted to be standing beside her right now. He wanted to be the one comforting her and holding her. He wanted her to be the one comforting him instead of his sham of a fiancée.

He looked at his son's casket and felt his heart break into millions of pieces. He never thought his life would be this empty. The day Teresa left, he felt a part of him had left with her. But today, he felt every part of him die. There was nothing but hollowness and emptiness within him. Everything he held dear in his life was lost to him. He would never feel Teresa's arms around him again and he will never hear his son's laughter ever.

Would you know my name, if I saw you in Heaven?
Would it be the same, if I saw you in Heaven?
I must be strong and carry on,
Cause I know I don't belong,
Here in Heaven.

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Teresa started shaking violently as the casket was lowered to the ground. People approached and threw earth and flowers on top of it. She saw Fox throw the catching glove on the grave. She tried to walk and take a last look, but she just couldn't. Instead, she fell on the wet grass and cried. Fox saw it and was by her side in a second.

"Here, Teresa. Let me help you."

She looked at him.

"No, please just leave me alone."

He stepped away from her giving her space. She got up slowly and walked to the grave. She took earth in her hand and threw it on the casket.

"He is really gone, Fox. My baby boy. He was so little."

"I know."

She turned around and walked away from him. He heard her whisper that song that she sang to their son so often.

"Say goodnight, not goodbye,
You will never leave my heart behind,
Like the path of a star,
I'll be anywhere you are,
In the spark that lies beneath the coal,
In the secret place inside my soul,
Keep my light in your eyes...."

Whatever strength he thought was left in him was gone at that moment. Like Teresa, he was nothing but an empty shell.