Scenarios

Tidbit #6

*SPOILERS*
IF YOU HAVE NOT READ "PROMISES KEPT" I RECOMMEND SKIPPING THIS STORY UNTIL YOU DO.

Today is a sad day. People are gathering from all over town at our graveyard. Today is the day we mourn the loved ones we lost in the recent battle. I wish I could honor the dead as I normally do when we loose someone, but I can't bring myself to do it today. I have my own dead to mourn. Yurigotashotus: My guardian, and one of my closest friends. My father. He died defending Endromidus, so it's been decided that it would be most appropriate to burry him here. The day is bright and sunny, but wind adds a consistent chill to the air. I feel numb, but not because of the frigid wind. I walk slowly, with Serena by my side, to the graveyard. A grave has been prepared for Dad there. Mourners line the streets, all heading to the same place. The smell of tears, and the constant sound of crying is heavy in the air. The final battle with the witches was last night. Casualties weren't huge, but still too high for my liking. 47 dead, 138 injured, including myself. Pain from injuries is dwarfed, however, by the emotional pain of loss. I spot the graveyard down the road. So many people are gathered in and around it. Normally it would hurt more than anything to see so many of my citizens mourning like this. But, as I said, my own loss has siphoned all the feeling out of me. There's enough space between groups of people to easily pass through to Dad's grave. He's already there in his coffin, so the burial and the respects are all that are left. As we get close to his grave, I notice that the crowd is slowly turning into a crowd of endermen. Dad's death has had an impact on the End as well. He was a beloved leader, and I know it's going to be hard for whoever steps up to take his place to live up to Dad's name. Closest to the grave are some of my closest friends who knew Dad, and are here to support me. The gorgons, Rachel and her parents, Midnight, Charlotte and her husband. A pair of endermen are standing next to Dad's coffin, prepared lower it into the grave. The funeral is closed casket. Dad's body wasn't in the best shape when we found it. It's too gruesome to think about, so I try not to. The crowd splits for me as I approach his coffin. I stop a foot from it. I lay my hand on the brown wood. This all feels like a dream. Like I could just wake up at any moment, and everything will be alright. I know I won't, though. I'm here, now, and nothing can change that. "I'm so sorry." I whisper. I feel a hand on my shoulder, and turn to see Serena standing behind me. "Go on. You can do it." She says. I turn back to Dad. "You did so much for me. You sacrificed so much. You were my hero just as much as you were my father. You died protecting my home. I will never forget that. Thank you. For everything." We step away from the coffin, fighting to keep it together. "It was lovely." Serena says. She steps up to the coffin, shaking. "Yuri, you-" She takes a breath. "You raised this beautiful man I call my husband. He wasn't born to you, but you took him in as your own and raised him anyways. You did a good job. You made Joey the strong, compassionate young man he is today. I will forever be in your debt because of that." I feel tears on my cheeks. Serena turns around and hugs me. I hug her back. The next hour consists of many endermen stepping up to Dad's casket to pay their own respects. Only after the coffin disappeared into the ground did the crowd begin to disperse. Endermen start teleporting home, and the rest of us walk away from the graveyard. No one approaches me. No one tries to talk or apologize. And, you know what? I'm glad. I don't know if I'm capable of talking to people right now. I walk home silently, hand in hand with Serena.