The Princess and the Spider-Man

Chapter 45

Sadness was dominating the mind of Peter Parker at the moment. Reason being is due to the fact that his aunt's funeral is currently in progress. He was sitting in a church as the pastor was preaching right in front of the casket.

He felt a squeeze on his right hand and he looked at the concerned face of Mera. Hot years were rolling down her face as she mustered up the most soothing smile towards him.

Peter sniffed and smiled back at her as best as he could, before returning his gaze to the pastor. As he spoke, all Peter could do was stare at the casket in the center of the church.

How many more people will he have to lose? Why does this always keep happening to him? Those were the questions that we're currently swirling around in his head as the service went on.

Before long, it was over and it was time to go to the cemetery, which was basically right behind the church. Peter got up and walked right past MJ, Miles and Mrs. Morales, all of whom had looks of sympathy towards him. He was still clutching Mera's hand as he walked to the outside of the church.

Before long, they had finished the burial right where the tombstone for May was located. Looking at the words on the stone, Peter was filled with both happiness and sadness. "When you help someone, you help everyone."

Looking at it now, Peter realized that this was May's message towards him that impacted the rest of his life. Much like the words his Uncle Ben gave to him before he died.

Speaking of Uncle Ben, Peter couldn't help but glance at the tombstone of his uncle that resided just beside Aunt May's tombstone. Mera's grip on Peter's hand tightened and MJ put a hand on his right arm. Miles put a hand on Peter's left shoulder, all while blinking back tears of his own.

If there was one positive to this moment, at least May isn't suffering from the disease anymore. She did always tell him to look for the positives in gloomy situations.

For the longest time, they all stood there at the grave. Eventually the crowd started to die down and they all started to head home. As Peter walked with Mera, a voice caught his attention.

"Mr. Parker." The voice said from behind him. They turned to look around and saw the man who they met in Italy dressed in a black tux and pants.

"Paul." Peter said, shaking his hand. "Nice to see you again." He added. "Mera, this is Paul. Paul, this is my girlfriend Mera." He said to Mera.

"Greetings." Paul said, nodding his head to Mera with a friendly smile.

"Hello." Mera said with a smile of her own. Normally she wouldn't be all that friendly towards strangers, but since he seemed to be on good terms with Peter, she'll let it slide.

"I didn't expect to see you here." Peter said.

"Yes. Well May and I have actually known each other for years. In fact we were in the same highschool." Paul said.

"Really now?" Peter asked, intrigued.

"Yeah. I came mainly because I heard of what Otto was doing and was trying to talk some sense into him......" He trailed off. "I guess I got here too late. Anyways, I was also running an errand around here when I heard of May. I'm truly sorry for your loss. She was a great woman."

"Thank you Paul. And yes she was." Peter said. Then a thought occurred to him. "So what errands were you doing?" He asked.

"Well, you see I'm here to purchase a boat." Paul said.

"A boat?" Mera asked, curious.

"You flew all the way from Italy to New York to get a boat?" Peter asked, a little perplexed.