Perfectly Perfect

Chapter 1

                What’s the real point of life? That’s a question I find myself asking all the time these days. Why are we put on this earth, what’s are purpose? Nobody really knows for sure you could get a thousand answers, but would any of them be right. Life is so short and surely we must not only be on this earth to go through eight years of school only to go on to four years of more school. Then to spend half of your life savings on more school for at least four more years. Then to finally spend another third of your life working to hopefully someday to retire with a lot of money and be set for the last precious years you have left.

                The pure irony of it is most of us don’t have a choice. We have to do all these things to survive and what other choice do we really have? It’s a way of life that our society has accepted and is now unacceptable to not do. Not to mention if you don’t do it you’ll have nothing. A good education and job is everything these days.

                I sound crazy I know. How could I think of anything other than becoming successful in life and doing everything to get there? You just never realize how precious and short life is until you lose someone close to you.  I guess that’s what brings me here today. Hiding in a small broom closet in a funeral home pondering life and that question that doesn’t have an answer. I’ve been in here for quite a while and I’m not sure anyone has noticed yet and I hope no one ever does. I just want to stay here in this cozy, mom free, people free closet. Just as I’m about to consider the possibility of staying here undiscovered I hear my mom’s earth shattering voice which sounded very agitated. I start to break a sweat and start my mother’s biggest pet peeve, chewing my nails. At that moment her super mother hearing kicks and I’m caught red handed in between a dusty broom and window cleaner chewing my freshly painted ruby red nails.

                “Royal what are you doing in here” she said clearly annoyed.

                “Um…examining the closet to make sure everything’s up to code and look at that everything is, but I better stay in here a couple extra hours just to make sure” I quickly said trying to make something up.

                “Look Royal I don’t have time for this right now there is a room full of people just across the hall and neither of us are ready for this but we have to do this. Do you remember what I told you”?

                “Of course I do how could I forget.”

                “Well”

                “Don’t worry I’ll try not to make a huge scene and hide that I’m secretly dying inside and assure people I’m not going to dress in all black and hide in my room for the rest of my days” I dramatically stated.

                “Everything doesn’t have to be a huge act and I hope that last part was a joke”

                “It was” I said as I casually tried to walk away. 

                “It’s this way royal”

                “Oh yeah”

                As soon as you walked into the room the atmosphere changed. Just being in the room made you feel sad which was exactly why I was dreading coming in here. The last thing I needed was a bunch of ancient relatives I barely knew coming up to me and telling me they were sorry for my lost. I know they had good intentions, but every time someone mentioned it a part of me died inside. Truthfully I still hadn’t fully processed that he was gone. That I would never see him again in person. Denial was the only thing I had left. Slowly I inched to the nearest corner of the room. I watched everyone walk around the room. Munch on some snacks and mourn with others. Then I saw trouble coming. People had seen me and were coming my way and I was not about to be cornered by people who just reminded me he was gone. I was home free until an icy and wrinkled hand with neon pink nail polish griped my hand. She stood there with a tight V-neck black dress that seemed a little too provocative for a funeral. My aunt (from my mother’s side), Regina. Aunt Regina and my mom were polar opposites. My mom was a timeless beauty who at thirty five did not have a single wrinkle while my Aunt no matter how hard she tried seemed to have countless wrinkles at forty-one. My mom was conservative and kept to herself while my aunt was scandalous and kept to threw herself at everyman she ever met.

                “Well hello dear, isn’t it nice to see you again” she said without a hint of pity.     

                “Hello Aunt Regina well I sure am glad you took time to come see us after you just got divorced to your fifth husband and i'm pretty sure you took over half his money like always" i proudly stated knowing she wasn't listening.

                "Yeah whatever where is your mom... I have something i need to talk to her about".

                "She's by the door greeting all the guests"

                "Well thank you and Royal watch that smart mouth of yours. Someday somebody's going to do something about it" and with that she walked away leaving only the faint smell of her suffacating perfume.