Olivia goes West

Chapter 15

"Dear friends and compatriots, we are here to mourn the losses of Fievel Mousekewitz and his little friend Olivia Flaversham, who were taken from us far too early."

There were sobs and noses being blown in the small crowd at the Green River Cemetery just outside town, where Ratigan stood between two freshly carved tombstones delivering a eulogy to the very children he'd tried to kill. With no bodies recovered and thus no need for caskets, the tombstones merely served as memorial markers. Fievel's tombstone was even customized to be written in both English and Hebrew, and sported a Star of David at the top. There being no Rabbi in town it was yet another compensation gift courtesy of Waul, who paid the undertaker extra for it. Having made quite a bit of money at the saloon since retaking it, Waul and Ratigan spared no expense in keeping up their ruse.

"It is with a heavy heart that we lay the souls of these dearly departed children to rest," Ratigan continued, "Wherever they may be, let us hope that they are happy and together. And...should I be elected mayor of Green River, I will make sure that tragedies such as this one never again befall the good citizens of this town. From now on, Sheriff Waul and his deputies will make certain that the children in this town are not allowed to wander outside of the town limits. But we urge everyone in town to do their part, and make sure all the children are safe."

Wearing a black dress and a veil over her face, Tanya was the first to step forward and mournfully place a round stone in front of their graves, an old Jewish tradition. Mama and Papa, both in tears, followed behind. Papa placed a violin before Fievel's grave. Among those in attendance were Tony and Bridget; Bridget was dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief and sniffling, holding their daughter Aisling's hand while Tony wore a numb expression, his eyes bloodshot and baggy from the lack of sleep since hearing the news.

"I can't believe Filly's really gone..." Tony said in a near whisper, "And 'Liv...I shoulda been a betta surrogate father to her...I shoulda watched them..."

"We all feel partly responsible, Tony..." Bridget replied, "You had yer job to worry about...it's me who shoulda watched Olivia more. But we canno' go on blamin' ourselves...we gotta just make sure we take care of what we still have."

"Yeah, I know..." he gazed down at his daughter, who looked around curiously, not understanding why everyone was so sad, "We still got Ash here, but...Filly was like a little brother. No one's eva gonna replace him. If it weren't for him we mighta never met, and I might be workin' in a sweatshop right now..."

Behind them, Nellie carried a clipboard, and bitterly wrote down everything that happened and was being said. She'd give it to Basil to look over when he got here; anything Ratigan said could provide another clue, and Basil was better at picking them out than she was. She wondered if they were really going to get Fidget and Chula to patrol the streets for children or if it was just talk. At any rate, she was glad not to be a mother in this town, if Ratigan was putting himself in charge of their well-being.

"I did think Tiger mighta shown up though..." Tony said, looking around, "Is he too broken up to show or somethin?"

"He's still by the river..." Tanya replied, overhearing Tony, "I guess he just doesn't want to believe that they're gone."

"Can't say I blame him, poor guy," Tony sighed, "I guess he'll come around."

Tanya gazed over at Tony from behind her black veil, wondering if she should mention the crazy things Tiger had tried to tell her the night before. Or that feeling she had in her heart that told her Fievel was alive. As mournful as the funeral had made her, she really couldn't make herself fully believe that her brother was gone. But if Fievel was alive, it didn't mean that Waul and Ratigan were lying...did it? Whenever the nagging doubts crept into her mind she did everything she could to push them away. She wanted to believe Ratigan and Waul were nice. But wasn't that exactly how she felt the last time, when Waul was really plotting to kill everyone she knew? Tiger had planted the seeds of doubt in her mind, as much as she hated it.