The sun rose on the day that was to be the saddest day in the history of Mount Thomas, but it felt so surreal. The suns rays shone in the partially open window and shone on Katie, and they warmed her up.

This terrible day should never be happening, Katie thought. She pulled herself of the bed, and then she remembered the events of last night.

"Urghhh" she groaned.

She got up and turned on the shower, and got dressed up and did her hair. Then, just as PJ was ready, they stepped into the sun together, and drove all the way to the park that she was at the night before, where the funeral was to be held.

She smiled as she got out of the car, because it was just how she had arranged for it to be. They had let her choose, what flowers there was, what music, the prayers to be said, she got to choose everything.

When she saw the chairs, she was so touched, because they had planned for at least that many people to be there, if not more. Look how many people's life's she had touched.
Katie put on some music when people started arriving, her first choice was stairway to heaven, because she knew that Jo had loved that song, and she knew that Jo was in heaven.
She saw all the people Jo had known, and there was so many. It's funny, you don't really realise how many people's life's a person touches till they die, and you see them all gathered at the funeral, Katie thought.
Her Mum and Dad were right next to her, sitting in the front row, but Katie couldn't take it, she couldn't stand sitting there staring at her sister's "coffin."

Because that is what it was, just a coffin, Jo's body wasn't even in it. But she did know what was in it, because she had organised that too.

Her belongings were in it, and some photos that she had got copies of, and now had forever. There was photos from throughout her whole life, it showed how much Jo had really grown.

There was photos of her being born, christened, growing up, holding Katie when she had just been born, the two of them growing up together, graduating school, travelling the world, friends at the police academy, friends at the stables where she rode, her hugging horses necks, graduating from the academy, moving to Mount Thomas, her and Katie's special spot, her friends and co workers hanging out at the Imperial, walking on patrol in Mount Thomas.

Then there was the more recent photos, which broke Katie's and PJ's hearts, because she was so full of life, like all her co workers standing outside the station, Katie and Jo standing outside the house that she had lived in, PJ and Jo standing next to each other, so clearly in love, and her and PJ, just after they got engaged, with a ring on her finger. That was the last photo ever taken of her. She looked so carefree, like nothing could dampen her spirits, laughing like she always was, holding PJ like she would never let him go, and her eyes sparkling like they were made out of glitter.

Little did she know the heartbreak that would follow that photo.

In the coffin there was also a whole lot of music sheets, because she loved music, and her police uniform. There was a picture of her, the one where she had just gotten engaged, but just her head, on the top of the coffin, there was also her police hat. And then there was the flowers, by god, was there ever flowers, almost every person who came to the funeral brought flowers.
But Katie couldn't bear to look at that, and turned around and walked out the door, where she ran into all the police from the station, plus all the old people who used to work with her, people from the academy, and the official people, who were high up in the policing world, who'd come to pay their respects to someone who lost their life in the line of duty.
She gave them all massive hugs, but held on especially tight to PJ, because if she closed her eyes, she could almost smell Jo again.

She cried and a little tear trickled down the leather of his coat, but he didn't care. They all signed the guest book and sat down.

She wanted to sit nice and safely in between Susie and PJ, but she knew her parents couldn't bear it if she chose them over her own parents, so she sat where the family was supposed to sit.

She decided that she would conform for this one day and not feel quilty.
Then all the talking and singing started. Katie tried to pay attention to it, but couldn't do it.

Then the eulogies started.

Her parents did one together, and they stood up there, holding hands, shaking in their shoes, but they got through it.

Then the celebrant said it was her turn, and she got up, as if floating on a cloud, and stood there staring out at all the people gathered in that beautiful park.
She looked around for a minute, and she was so choked up with tears that she couldn't talk for a minute.

The first few words were really slow, but the next were torture, as it was the hardest thing Katie ever had to do.

Come on Katie, she thought, you won't be able to live with yourself if you don't do this, and it is for Jo. And she got on with it.