The day of the funeral dawned cold and wet, and Kate supposed it was
a fitting atmosphere. She chose the only outfit in her wardrobe that
seemed appropriate "funeral clothes": A simple black dress that
nearly reached her ankles, and matching high heels. As she dressed,
her thoughts wandered to past funerals, and she shivered at the
horrible memories.
Kate's mother had passed away of cancer two years earlier, and a few
short months after that, her father had taken his own life, unable to
live without his beloved wife. He gave no thought to me, Kate would
often think to herself, anger rising in her. And so, within the space
of a year, she had been left without either parent. She didn't have
many relatives, and the ones she did have were scattered around the
country, some even living overseas. Uncle Toby was the only close
relative she had left now.
Dear, sweet Uncle Toby. She smiled as she thought of him. How she
wished she could turn back the hands of time, and do things over. She
would have made more of an effort to spend time with her aunt and
uncle.
It was true that she was the only one in the family who felt a
special bond with them. Kate's mom had been Sarah's much younger half-
sister. About ten years after Toby was born, Sarah's father and
stepmother had had another child, who would one day be Kate's mother.
Since there was such an age difference between Kate's mom and Sarah,
they had never been close. But Kate supposed it wasn't just the age
gap that caused the strained relationship. Everyone in the family
thought Aunt Sarah was crazy, and it seemed only children enjoyed
listening to her wild stories. Kate remembered that whenever Sarah's
name came up, her parents would just shake their heads and
mutter, "It's sad, it's really sad". But Kate didn't think anything
about Aunt Sarah was sad...
Now, as an adult, Kate saw things more clearly. She understood where
her parents were coming from back then. Sarah had never married, and
had lived her entire life as the town eccentric. At Halloween, kids
were afraid to come trick or treating, because everyone thought she
was a "witch". The two-story brick house with enormous oaks flanking
either side was indeed a creepy-looking place, though Kate thought it
was wonderful. And she still did.
Tucking her hair behind her ears, Kate slipped on her shoes and
headed for the door. Her legs felt weak as she descended the
staircase and climbed into Uncle Toby's car. She was glad she
wouldn't be driving this day. Pat and Eddie soon joined her,
squeezing themselves into the tiny space on either side of her, until
Kate could hardly breath. She noticed Pat reeked of cheap perfume,
and Eddie had the smell of peanut-butter on his breath.
Ugh. Kate cringed. A moment later, her uncle started up the engine
and then they were off.
It was a simple graveside service, because there were only four
family members in attendance. As the minister spoke, Kate looked down
at the dark, shiny coffin, and wondered why nobody else had
come. "Busy with their own lives," Uncle Toby had said as he gave a
brave smile, but Kate wasn't buying it. Aunt Sarah was family, after
all. The real reason no one had arrived was because they didn't want
to waste any precious time over their crazy relative. Just as Eddie
had said "she's better off" so had many others, Kate was certain.
She felt tears sting her eyes as the coffin was slowly lowered into
the dark, damp earth. It had started to rain, a light drizzle, and
she could feel icy droplets fall onto her skull. Her high heels were
covered in mud, and some of it had even splashed onto her legs.
Shivering, she wrapped her black wool coat tightly around her, and
crossed her arms over her chest for added warmth.
"I'm cold and starved," whined Eddie, scowling hard. "It's over. Can
we please get back in the car now?"
"Yeah, c'mon," chimed in Pat, looking pale and miserable in a bright
yellow rain slicker. "This mud is just ruining my shoes. They're
Prada, you know. It's going to take me a month to get them clean."
Uncle Toby sighed and looked over at Kate. "I guess we should take
them back," he whispered.
His niece nodded slowly. "I'll meet you at the car, OK? I just want a
minute by myself."
Her uncle gave her an understanding smile, and patted her shoulder
gently. "Sure. Take your time."
Kate watched as the three of them went toward the car, and then she
turned back to the grave. She let the tears come freely now, and they
felt hot against her cold cheeks. Her eye makeup burned her eyes and
she didn't care.
"Oh Aunt Sarah," she choked out. "I miss you so much. I wish...I
wish...I wish so many things that I know can never be."
A bitter breeze rustled by just then, chilling her to the core. Her
hair blew wildly, and her teeth chattered. Suddenly, it stopped, and
an eerie stillness descended over the graveyard.
"Goodbye," she whispered brokenly, trying in vain to wipe the tears
from her face. She was just about to turn away when something caught
her eye. High above, in a towering tree, sat a white owl. It was
perched on a limb, and it's large eyes were staring down, watching
her.
Shrugging, Kate finally turned and headed for the car. She stumbled
once, her heel getting stuck in the mud, but she finally managed to
get to the car.
The car drove away, leaving the owl alone in the graveyard.