Sincerely, Sara

Chapter 36

Anna's POV

I put on my black dress and put minimal makeup on. I knew I would be crying.

Today was the funeral.

•••

I placed a flower on her casket and stepped back to join the crowd of people in the church.

I knew she would've hated this. She would have told her mother that the pictures she chose made her look fake and very weird.

She would have liked the flowers though. They were her favorite type, hyacinths, baby's breath, and peonies.

The aroma that wafted from the flowers was so strong I nearly gagged when I walked inside.

Aside from the bright colored flowers everything else seemed gloomy. It was a funeral after all.

A minister came up in front of her casket and the whole room found their ways to seats.

I sat next to Camille and Aria in the second row.

I barely heard a word he was saying, I just sat there and cried.

A few family members and friends got up to speak about her. After a minute the whole room was silent.

Aria touched my arm "Anna, it's your turn to go up"

I took a deep breath and stood up.

The walk to the front of the room seemed way longer than it was.

"I met Sara in 5th grade. She was one of the weirdest people I had ever met. She and I had many differences."

I took a long shaky breath. "But we became friends in about 6th grade. I'm happy that we did. She never changed, she was always random and wacky. And her laugh? It could get so obnoxious... but that's what made Sara, Sara. Last year she told me that she had hated me in 5th and 6th grade. But now I was 'tolerable'. She could be so horribly mean, but terribly nice at the same time. She was always joking around. I'm going to miss her for the rest of my life. I'm going to want to complain to her about my breakups, scream to her about a guy asking me out, tell her that I got engaged, that my dog died, rant about a mean teacher, or that I got into college. I can't tell her in person, but I feel like she'll know. Sara was not a person to sit down and give up when it came to things she believed in. She fought really hard to stay healthy and happy. So I don't think she would just quit on me. Or on any of us. She's going to forever be a part of us, because once you knew her, you were a little different."

I choked back a sob. "I don't think anyone Sara met could forget her. That's the legacy she left behind, a lot of people that loved her, a lot of people she loved."

I pressed my lips together and walked back to my seat. More people got up to speak but it was all a blur.

Finally we got up from our seats and went out to the cemetery.

It was freezing.

It took awhile for the casket to be brought out and set next to the plot.

Everybody watched as it was lowered into the ground. The minister spoke a few prayers.

As we watched the family toss handfuls of dirt into her grave I began to bawl.

That's it. She was really gone. I don't know what I had expected. Her to pop out of the casket and scream "SURPRISE! I GOT YOU ALL SO GOOD!"

But she didn't. Sara Trithe was dead. Sara Trithe was buried.

Every word I had said was true. I was going to miss her for the rest of my life.