Rusty's Secret

32. The Funeral

The sky was filled with dark gray clouds. The streets were quiet, quiet enough to only hear the songs of the just awoken birds.

"Rusty, honey! Get out of bed, we have to go!" Rusty's mum yelled from the kitchen. Rusty's eyes start to open. His room was dark and silent. The only sound was the soft rain hitting his window. Rusty knew what day it was. How could he forget? He sat up with his covers still over him. He sighed as he looked around his darkened room.

"Rusty, come on!" His mum yelled again. Rusty yawned as he crawled out of his bed.

He walked into the kitchen and saw Dusty sitting down at the dinner table, picking at her eggs and toast. Rusty slumps into his chair, staring at the food in front of him. "I know we're all going through a hard time....can you at least eat some food...?" His mum requested. "I'm not hungry..." Rusty groans as he rested his head on the table. His mum sighs as she walked back to the kitchen sink.

A couple of minutes pass until they hear a knock at the door. "I'll get it!" Dusty shouts. Dusty walks over to the door and opens it up. She looks up and sees Digger and Tiny staring down at her. "Digger! You're back!" She shouted as she hugged her brother. "I missed you too" Digger laughed.

"Hey brother..." Digger said as he entered the room. Rusty lifts his head up."Digger!" He shouts as he gives Digger a huge hug. "Digger! I'm so glad you came. Hello Tiny" Thier mum saix happily. "Hey, mum" Digger said as he hugged her. "Hello, Mrs. Uh....Ms. Kelpie" Tiny says politely.

"We should probably get going...." Their mum said as she grabbed her car keys. Rusty's eyes tear up as she said that. She opens up the front door as everyone leaves the house. She pats Rusty's head as he walks out of the house.

Tiny follows Digger into his car while Dusty, Rusty, and their mum get in there's.

Rusty just stares out the window while they drive, saying nothing the whole time. "Rusty, I invited Jack and his family" his mum says to him, looking at him in the reer veiw mirror. Rusty doesn't respond. "Rusty!" His Mum shouts, trying to get his attention. "Oh uh....S-Sorry....." Rusty replied, looking away from the window. "It's ok, honey, " his mum says softly.

After a couple of minutes, they arrive at the gravesite. Rusty stares at it through the window. It looks empty and dead. It looked like a thousand funerals happened here before his.

They were the only people there. It felt like a ghost town. As Rusty exited the car, he felt a shiver run down his spine as he stepped onto the wet grass.

Rusty walked around and sat down on a bench and buried his head in his knees. The morning rain made the wood soggy. But Rusty didn't care, he didn't care about anything right now. He could feel the bench shaking as Dusty and Digger sat by his side.

"It's okay, Rusty...." Dusty said comfortingly, looking over at him. Digger puts his arm around Rusty. "I know it's hard..." Rusty blocked out what Digger was saying as he saw a car pull into the parking lot in front of him. It was a white all wheel drive. A car Rusty has seen multiple times. He knew exactly who was going to come out of the back seat.

He leaps out of his seat and starts to run towards Jack's car.

Jack opens up his car door and hops out onto the ground, but before he can get on his feet, Rusty jumps into his arms.

"Ah!....oh, hey Rus" Jack says in a comforting tone. Rusty lets go of the hug, leaving tear marks on Jack's shoulder. Jack looks up at his mum. "Go on" She mouthed, moving her hands forward. "U-Uh...Here you go" Jack said nervously as he handed Rusty a small bouquet of flowers. "I'm sorry for your loss..." Jack said calmly. "T-Thank you..." Rusty sniffled as he smelled the flowers. They smelt delicate and sweet. Rusty felt the soft petals rub against his fur. It felt nice.  For a second, he felt happy. But once he removed his hand and nose from the bouquet, he was reminded of the sadness as his smile faded away into a frown, the same frown he's been wearing on his face for the past two weeks.

"Jack! I'm so glad you could make it!" Rusty's mum shouted as she walked over. "Hello Carter, Hello Teresa" Rusty's mum said as she shook Jack's parent's hands. "Hey, Jess. I'm so sorry for your loss...." Jack's mum said shakily, looking Rusty's mum directly in the eyes. "Thank you..." Rusty's Mum sighed.

Jack followed Rusty to the same wooden bench he was just sitting at. Dusty was sitting on it, staring off into space. "Hey Dusty!" Jack said nicley as he walked over to her. Dusty snapped out of it as she got up and gave Jack a hug. She watched as Lulu jumped out of her car. She let go of Jack and ran over to give Lulu an even tighter hug. She always did that with her friends, but this time, the hug was stronger and bigger.

Later, the rest of Rusty's family arrive. After a couple of minutes, they begin the seramony. Rusty listens to his family is saying their speeches about his father. How funny he was. How he was understanding and accepting he was of anyone. How much he loved nature. How much he loved his family. His wife. His kids. Rusty. Rusty tightly grips onto Jack's hand as tears slide down his face.

Rusty watches as his father's coffin lowers six feet underground. He was crying, knowing his father was right in front of him. But he'd never get to hear his voice again. He'd never get to feel the joy of his father returning home from the army. Never get to go to restaurants with him like they always did when he came home. Or how they played cricket on the weekends. Or feel the sadness of his father going back on patrol.

Rusty couldn't handle it. The feeling was too much. Too much for him to handle. He quickly let go of Jack's hand and escaped from the scene. He ran into the trees surrounding the graveyard.

"Rusty! Come back!" Jack shouts as he watches him fade away into nothingness. "Jack, what's what's wrong?" Rusty's mum questions worrily. "R-Rusty ran away...H-He went into those trees..." Jack said quietly as he pointed over at the forest.

"C-C'mon, let's go find him..." Rusty's mum says nervously as she walked over to the trees. "Digger, Dusty! Go tell everyone that Rusty's gone!" Thier mum demanded as she walked away.

Rusty sits behind a tree alone. Tossing rocks into the dirt. He buries his head in his knees and cries non-stop. He looks up as a single lily petal falls in front of him. His Dad loved lilys. They were always his favorite flower. He picks it up as his tears fall onto the white lily petal.  The,  a seed gently floats down onto the ground next to him. He wiggles his finger into the moist dirt, creating a small hole into it. He drops the seed into it.

As he covered it with dirt, his tears suddenly and he feels warm inside. He knows his dad is not living anymore, but it felt like his dad was with him at that moment. He rubbed his eyes as he looked around.

Then he hears Jack call his name. "I-I'm over here..." Rusty shouts back. Jack feels relieved to hear Rusty's voice again. Jack sees Rusty sitting by a tree, wiping his tears. Jack sits down next to him. "Are you okay..?" Jack questioned as he sat. "No...well....I guess...." Rusty responds quietly. Jack puts his arm around Rusty. "I-I just....what am I supposed to feel like.....I've never had someone die in my family before....this feeling it's new...and I don't like it...it scares me...." Rusty explained softly. "I know...I've been through the same thing....But....you just have to move on..." Jack said as he wrapped his arm around Rusty. Jack gives Rusty a kiss on the cheek. Rusty eyes grow as he blushed. "D-Did you just..." Rusty stuttered, staring down at the ground. "Sorry..." Jack apologized. "No, it's fine...." Rusty kissed Jack back.

"Rusty honey! Where are you!" His mum shouted. "We're over here!" Rusty yelled.

She followed his voice. She saw them sitting by a tree. "Rusty, why'd you run away..." His mum says, lifting him off the ground. "I just....It was just too much....I'm sorry...." Rusty said silently as he stared at his feet. "Rusty...there's nothing to apologize for....I know it's hard to let go....but....you just have to work on it...we all have to work on it..." His mum says as she gives her son a tight hug.

One and a half months later, the seed Rusty planted grew into a small white lily flower. And next to it, layed a framed picture of his father.