In Time

-Four-

17 April 2017, Monday

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Today was Diana's funeral. Like they said, funerals were for the living. I saw what they meant. I saw Diana's parents. A petite middle aged lady with graying hair who I assumed was her mum was crouching at the side of her coffin, breaking down into uncontrollable sobs. Her husband, I presumed, was trying to comfort her, but to no avail. I wondered if she had been crying for the past four days and how miserable a parent would feel to attend their child's funeral; no parent should have to go through that pain. It must have been crushing for the both of them.

After several groups of people came and went, Jon, Aus and I took our turns to visit Diana. She laid peacefully in her coffin; someone might have actually thought that she was asleep if they didn't know better. I heard that suicide victims left their bodies in a pretty bad state, but Diana looked just fine. I guess morticians really played an important role, to give family and friends a nice last look at their beloved and to remember them.

It was then time for the ceremony. Songs like 'In the Arms of An Angel' were played by a band. I didn't know if Diana wanted that for her funeral song, I guess I'll never find out. There was then a prayer session headed by a pastor and a scripture reading. I never knew that Diana was religious; I guess sometimes we find out more about a person after their death.

Halfway throughout the ceremony, a group of girls walked in. They were scantily dressed in short skirts—their butt cheeks almost showing—and they didn't even have the courtesy to un-light their cigarettes before entering. Among the group, I recognised Tiffany and Susan from cheerleading; they were famous after vying with Diana for the flyer position in the cheerleading team in an overly-dramatic episode last season. And Tiffany was from my middle school, not that I'd ever forget her. But they didn't look like they came to pay their respects; they looked like they were here to create a din instead. The group settled down on the bench next to me, cigarette smoke clouding my smell.

A tall and lanky guy took the stage. He was probably around my age but his deeply sunken eye bags did him no justice.

"Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for coming."

The girls on my left scoffed.

"I'm Daniel Choo, Diana's older brother," his voice broke at the mention of his sister's name. "I want to share with all of you about my sister, so that we can celebrate her life today and not just mourn over her death."

"Ooooh, this Daniel guy's a hottie..." I heard whispers from my left.

Didn't those girls learn any respect? This was a funeral, certainly not a time for ogling at guys.

"Diana was my sister, my good sister. She loved surprises and good fun...," tears started to brim in Daniel's eyes.

"Sure, Deedee would love any sort of fun, as long as it's with those guys," Tiffany whispered to one of the other girls, but unfortunately loud enough for me to pick it up.

I clenched my fists but made a mental note to myself to stay calm. It was a funeral after all.

"Diana was a sweet girl. She never rejected anyone when they came to her for help..."

"And she was slutty as well, never rejecting anyone who wanted to bed her," Susan mocked.

I couldn't live it down for another moment. Couldn't those girls give Diana a break? It was her funeral!