Cherry Wood

Chapter eleven

It was only a few weeks ago after the massacre, and from that, I am a changed man. I've learned from this, and I've been promoted. The worst time of my life has shaped me into a better person. I didn't do this for myself, though, I'm doing this for Camelia. I want to live the life that we always wanted. From that time forward I was considered a hero, even though it wasn't me who figured everything out. It was Claudette. I've had good things happen to me, including that I was able to adopt Claudette. She's like a daughter to me, but also a sister. Her extended family advised me to adopt her, since her main family was in trouble. She is allowed to her family if she wants, though, I'm not going to deprive her of that. Our life together is happy, and she is getting the proper care she needs after being traumatized and tormented for years. I have also taken trips to therapy, and I've learned to care about my mental health. The police have taken away many of the members and put them in jail, like this one girl Petunia. The news has gotten out about who was mainly responsible for the deaths of all the people, along with giving Hollywood shock that a former actress would do such heinous things. Needless to say, her movies will probably be removed from popular streaming platforms. This inner monologue, though, is all a ruse. I have been distracting myself all day to avoid thinking about the inevitable.
"Luis? It's time to go," Claudette says. She is waiting at the front door, wearing all black. I take a deep breath and follow her outside to the car.

A funeral. It brings people together. My casket was closed, I could hear people around me. I wasn't scared of death, although I hated to think about it. The casket was one that I could adore, it was cherry wood, and the fabric on the inside had stars and spaceships. My parents picked it out for me at the morgue, when they came to visit. I don't remember it all too well, my memory fails me every day. They were sad to see me go, my mom performed a beautiful speech that dad made. But now, it was time to go. The casket lowered into the ground, darkness was the only thing I could see. I heard the dirt fall and it the surface of the casket, until it stopped. There was silence, time passed. I couldn't fathom what was going on outside. Time was a construct, I couldn't tell if months had passed, or years. I felt the lid of the coffin slowly let the dirt in. My body was stiff and I saw as my rotting corpse was eaten by slimy maggots. Maggots that smelt the aroma of my taint. I watched as one by one the pudgy slimy creatures crawled out of my eyes and went to my grasping mouth and crawl into my stomach. I didn't care that the creatures were feeding off my flesh, I just wanted to quicken up the process, so maybe I could finally rest in peace.