Owen Cavalier; Wattpad Version

Chapter 11; The Funeral

"My dad... He was a good man. He always joked that one day, when he died, that if I dared touch his whiskey, he'd come back from the grave to kick my ass properly... I miss him. We all miss him. He was supposed to give me the "grown up" speech, and nag at me for how bad my music taste was... He was supposed to argue with me about university... But I'm not going to get a chance to do that with him now... People die every day, but we can only care if it hits close to home. Everyone loses family and friends. Everyone loses parents, and lovers. But we've just gotta remember that it'll happen to us one day... And if we end up where they are, where my dad is, before we should, you can bet that we'll get a proper ass kicking." Owen smiled, and choked back a sob.

"So Dad... I'll try to be a man like you were... I swear, you'll be proud when I'm where you are..."

Thirteen year old Owen walked away from the crowd... Tears crawled down his face... His sister walked up to him, and hugged him tightly. The two of them felt closer than they ever were, but for a reason they'd never have imagined. Tessa sobbed in a staccato fashion, in her black dress. Owen himself wore a nice waistcoat, and his sleeves were rolled up neatly. His mother walked up to them... She hugged Owen and Tessa tightly, causing them to sob even more.

Owen's aunt Betty put a gentle hand on his shoulder. She smiled, and gave her sister her condolences. Owen disengaged his family, and walked to the bathroom... He found the basin, and washed his face. His father's features shined through, as he watched his own face in the water-splattered mirror. The way his father's hair was spiked out at the top, his serious blue eyes and awkward nose. Owen wiped his face with a paper towel... The bathroom wasn't the cleanest, but it felt comfortable.

A man walked inside. He was large, and the bottom half of his face was covered with a scarf. He had thick sunglasses, despite the miserable weather, and the collar of his black trench coat stood up menacingly. Owen suddenly found it very uncomfortable washing his face. The man stood by the urinal.

"Who died?" He asked half-jokingly.

"My dad... Who are you?" Owen asked.

"Me? I'm just a guy whose curiosity gets too big for even him sometimes. My condolences about your father. Was he a good man?"

"The best."

"Then today is a dark day. Even nature mourns the loss of a man whose heart had good intentions. We have monsters in our world... Nature has nothing but apathy for them, yet nature can't punish them... Nature created monsters, but it also created the men who defeat them... So kid... Are you a man, or a monster? Think very carefully about that."

"I dunno about monsters... Maybe just people who lost their way..."

"If you believe the best of people; they'll disappoint you, if you believe the worst of people; they'll only prove you right."

"You seem to think that there are only two sides... There isn't just good and evil."

"Well... Are you prepared to stick to that statement?"

"Yes. Real life has grey areas."

"I heard a story like that once... An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. 'A fight is going on inside me,' he said to the boy. 'It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.' He continued, 'The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too.' The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, 'Which wolf will win?' The old Cherokee simply replied, 'The one you feed.'"

"It's a good story."

"It is. Well, I'm afraid I must be off."

"What's your name?" Owen asked.

"Sometimes 'A mysterious stranger' makes a better character than a man with a name. I like to think of myself like that."

"A mysteriousstranger, eh? Sounds lonely. Well, have a nice day." Owen said, and walked out.He felt something was odd about the man. But he was nice enough, so Owen let it go.