Dead & Forgotten

Ch. 26

Suddenly, it was the second week in November, and things couldn't stop happening. Between play rehearsals and other activities, such as the annual basketball tournament---of which Marvin was a part---and all those other activities, there just wasn't enough time for me to plan out Rachel's funeral service. I wanted to make it a special one for her, and not just for her, but also for me. I wanted it to mean something to me so that I could learn to stay strong....for her. Not to mention, I got an overload amount of homework, which sometimes took me forever to complete, even with music playing on the radio. Music always helped me focus on my work. To top it off, I've had restless night sleeps that week. All I did was lay in bed awake at night, thinking about how I should plan all this out. Who was going to show up to the funeral? Who wasn't going to show up? What kinds of food will there be? Where and when should we have this? These were so many questions floating around in my brain each night as I attempted to get some sleep but failed to do so.

Now it was a Wednesday evening. Back at home, whenever I had trouble falling asleep, I'd wake up at whatever time I felt convenient enough to wake up---mostly, it was in the middle of the night---and go to the kitchen to fix myself some tea, in hopes of being able to get some sleep. And most of the time, it worked like a charm. This "tradition", or whatever you'd like to call it, started when I was just five years old whenever Mom and Dad were out of town to shoot or direct movies and they decided to hire me a part-time nanny to take care of me when they were out for however long they had to be. Her name was Samantha, and if I recall correctly, she was about sixty-something years old. She was warm-hearted and even-tempered, never once got angry with me, simply because I was such a good kid. Okay, maybe not entirely true, but I really loved her. She and I got along pretty well at most times, and she would always make me some tea and read to me before I went to sleep at night, when Mom and Dad had to work at night.

But then, something really surprising happened. When she was 67 years old, Samantha was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's. I was about nine years old at the time. I always thought she would die, for some reason. However, I had a feeling she would be dead by this time, unfortunately. So Mom and Dad suggested that they should leave Rachel and me at Aunt Hillary's, which I initially hated as a child while Rachel didn't seem to mind at all. Oh, how young and innocent she used to be. Anyway, whenever I had my insomniac moments caused by stress, depression, you name it, tea would always be the remedy. Except in this case, there was no way for me to get tea. The dining hall was closed at this time, and all the doors were locked so no one could enter or escape. So I was doomed....

Maybe not. Through the thick darkness, I tried to find my suitcase without making any noises to disturb Donna. I decided to read for a little, despite that it was 10:35. I turned on my table lamp, which I'd brought from home, and began to read for a while. In most cases, Donna was a heavy sleeper who was not easily disturbed, but this case was an exception. She groaned as she woke up. "What are you doing now, Cassandra?" she said sleepily.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I have trouble falling asleep, so I decide I want to read for a little."

"You can't sleep, so you decide you wanna read for a while?" she said. "Now I can't sleep anymore!" She groaned.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you then," I said with a shrug.

Just then, she climbed down the bunk bed ladder to face me. "Okay, what is going on with you?"

"All right, all right, I'll tell you," I said with a sigh. "It's about the funeral, okay? I don't know what to do, and it's killing me! I want it to be perfect not just for her but also me. I also want it to mean something to me, but I don't know how I should plan it all out. I would like some help here. I'm so freaking stressed out about it! Excuse me while I go make myself some tea."