A/N: I don't know why I'm writing another chapter when I haven't gotten any reviews. I guess I'm really anxious just to write something, even if I don't know if people will like it. I don't even know if I'll like it. I don't even know what I'm writing. It's 12:51 AM, by the way, so if I don't make much sense...that's why.
Will stared hard as person after person filed under the crowded tent, paying their last respects to his mother. He nodded numbly and mumbled words he would never be able to recall as they tried to offer in comfort. All he could think was, She's gone. To a better place. To join my father. She's happy now, and I should be too. But he wasn't happy. When he had been parted from Lyra, he had tried to fill the hole in his heart by caring for his mother more than ever. Now that she was gone, what could he do? How could he fill the void?
Neighbor after neighbor filled the small row of chairs, and for a second, Will vaguely wondered if he would have to get more. But he didn't; there were just enough. He glanced at his watch. It was 2:00. Time to start the service.
Will had wanted to perform the service himself, not caring whether or not it would be done conventionally. He had wanted to be the one who spoke of her caring nature and selfless love, the one who sang her into everlasting sleep, the one who carefully piled dirt over her coffin. She had brought him lovingly into this world, and he would make sure that she was sent lovingly out of it.
Will cleared his throat, and the noise died down. "Hello, everyone," he said nervously. "I would like to thank you for coming today to the funeral service of my beloved mother, Elaine Aurora Wyndfield Parry. There is no way to tell you how much this means to me to see that my mother had so many beloved friends. I know most of you did not know her until after her...illness." Will paused, unsure of their reactions. When he saw nothing, he continued. "Some of you did, and I am grateful that you have decided to remain by her during the toughest years of her life. I know she may never have thanked you personally for the kindness you have shown both to her and myself, but surely you can see that if she had been lucid, she would have." He mentally reproached himself; now he was rambling. "The woman who lies before you today was one of the most loving people I know. When she married my father, John Parry, I am told it was a whirlwind romance, something people believed would not last more than a few months. But they were wrong; they loved each other more than life itself. My father died four years ago, faithful to his wife to the very last, even when a...woman...killed him for it." Will didn't know how his audience would react to the idea of a witch. "My mother pined for him since the day he left her, yearning for him to the point of insanity. I believe wholeheartedly that she knew the instant he died, for when I returned, her eyes were even more mournful than ever before. Since then, she has been waiting for me to grow up so that she could join her waiting husband. I know that she is happy now, wherever she is, for she is with him at last. She would not want us to weep for her sake, and I can only hope that I can fulfill her wish. Lastly, I would like to share a few words of wisdom that my mother shared with me. Her last moments before her death were her most lucid in fourteen years. I shall always remembered them." Will closed his eyes and saw his mother's wan face, her eyes closed, her pale lips barely moving. "She said to me, 'My son, listen carefully as I tell you a lesson which you should remember all your life. This applies to all but the dead. If you love someone, let them go. If they come back to you, they are yours. If not, it was never meant to be.' And with that, I would like to conclude my speech."
The applause was thunderous, yet the crowd looked pensive at the same time, mulling over what Will had just quoted. Mrs. Parry had indeed been a wise lady.
When the clapping died down, Will asked, "Would anyone like to say a few words?"
No one in the room stirred. Finally one man got up and said, "I think you've said all that needs to be said, Will. And no one could have done a better job. Your parents would have been proud." This was the highest praise anyone could give him, and Will knew it.
"If that's it then, I would like to sing a song for you," Will said tentatively. "I remember my mother singing it to me when I was little and needed to be sung to sleep. She always had a wistful look on her face when singing it, and once, when I asked her, she said it was because of my father. At that time, I was too young to understand, but now that I do, I'd like to sing it one for her one last time."
His deep tenor voice rang out with a rich melody.
"The sun is sinking low in the sky above Ashokan.
The pines and the willows know soon we will part."
Why was he thinking of Lyra?
"There's a whisper in the wind of promises unspoken,
And a love that will always remain in my heart."
Oh, goodness, he missed her so.
"My thoughts will return to the sound of your laughter,
The magic of moving as one,"
They had parted so long ago...
"And a time we'll remember long ever after
The moonlight and music and dancing are done."
The pain had never subsided.
"Will we climb the hills once more?
Will we walk the woods together?"
He wondered if she had forgotten him.
"Will I feel you holding me close once again?
Will every song we've sung stay with us forever?
Will you dance in my dreams or my arms until then?"
Of course not. She loved him.
"Under the moon the mountains lie sleeping
Over the lake the stars shine."
And he loved her.
"They wonder if you and I will be keeping
The magic and music, or leave them behind."
He wondered...
Thunderous applause once again met Will's ears. No time to wonder now. He had to do the job he had been anticipating and dreading at the same time. The audience gathered in a circle around the open grave. Together with a few volunteers in the audience, Will lifted the coffin and put it carefully into the ground. Women threw roses into the grave, and Will began to cover it with the rich, brown dirt. One shovel full. Then two. Slowly the coffin was covered until the hole was only two feet deep. Will put the shovel down. The gravediggers would finish the job and put in the tombstone. He had done all he could.
Suddenly exhausted, Will retreated to a chair. It was a good thing the group had began to mingle together and didn't notice his sudden lack of energy. Will closed his eyes and remembered his own words about not crying...for his mother's sake. He wouldn't cry. She'd want him to be happy...
A cool hand touched his shoulder, and he turned around to see Mary. The melancholy smile on her face made him feel slightly better.
"Cheer up, Will," she said. "You did a fine job orchestrating and carrying out your mother's funeral. The song was beautiful. Absolutely perfect," she said, wiping tears off her cheek.
"Thank you," he replied quietly.
They sat together quietly, until a fellow mourner called for Mary to come over. Mary got up and started to walk towards the woman, when she turned back.
"Midsummer's Eve is next week, you know," she whispered to Will, whose eyes were closed again.
"Yes," Will said quietly to himself. Even in this time of despair, or perhaps because of it, Will hadn't forgotten his meeting with Lyra. These days, it was all he was looking forward to.
A/N: Oh! Sad chapter! I really hope someone will review this and tell me if it's worth continuing. I really will try to get Lyra in soon...bear with me. It's 2:04 AM...so... By the way, the song is called Ashokan Farewell. The tune is by Jay Ungar, and the lyrics are by Grian MacGregor. And now that I'm trying to post this thing, it tells me the server's overloaded...great.
