The Most Beautiful Moment in Life

Intro: The Most Beautiful Moment in Life

I stood at the edge of the crowd surrounding the coffin. Half of me wanted to edge closer and see who it was, another half wanted to stay back and let the crowds of people, or so it seemed to me, take the lead, and yet another half, on a subconscious level, knew that something was seriously wrong.

I was shivering. Barefoot on the frozen ground, not even a hoodie to warm me a little. The dark shapes in front of me shifted slightly, and I heard murmurs of sorrow slip into my ears. They soothed the pain in my heart, knowing someone had passed on, although I had never met them. All the people in front of me moved in unison, the swishing of coats and cloaks and whatnot sounded like the coldest, iciest wind, piercing another hole in my already broken heart. I felt like a beggar to them, them in their warm clothing, me in rags. They didn't take notice of me, not once.

But then, I noticed that however thick their coats were, they didn't have warmth. Not a single sliver of heat from their bodies warmed the air. Is this some kind of zombie funeral? I didn't know zombies had funerals. Maybe this is the Underworld, and someone was deemed worthy enough to live again. I thought in my head, surprised at how smoothly my mind was functioning despite the cold. But then again, I probably wasn't thinking too sensibly then. I wanted to stand up, but my frozen legs couldn't support my weight. I sat there in the corner, arms on my knees and head on my arms, shivering myself to death, always overlooked.

I forced myself up, staggering to the front of the crowd. The solid wall was more fluid-like now, letting me slip through the gaps with ease. But not one of them reacted. I cautiously made my way to the coffin and saw that the lid was open. I could also see the body, pristinely preserved. I knelt at the side of the coffin, bowing my head low. The corpse didn't smell like rotting matter at all; it didn't smell like anything.

Snow started falling. Tiny, white specks of coldness raining down from the heavens like fallen feathers from the wings of the angels above. For the first time, I looked up at the sky. It was cloudy, but not spammed with cumulous everywhere. It was more like a grey blanket placed over the Earth, blocking the blue of the sky but the sunlight. From where I was, surrounded by trees and people in a frosty wood, it looked like another world from the viewpoint of a frog in the well.

I placed a soft hand on the corpse's chest, where the heart should reside. I scanned its face. Long, flowing locks of jet black hair tumbled down her shoulders like a graceful stream, framing her pale, bloodless face. She had a serene smile on her face as if she was merely asleep after a long day. Her eyes were closed. A snowflake caught on her eyelashes and sparkled like a star before fading into nothingness, probably like her. Shafts of light from above danced around her figure, paying their respects.

She looked young, around my age. An age where losses were imminent. I put a finger on her cold eyelid and opened it, then did the same with the other. Her cat-like eyes were glazed over: she wouldn't see anything ever again, no matter how beautiful or magical.

But they weren't empty as those of other dead people. They had emotion. And depth. And the memories of the most beautiful moments in her life. I looked into the glassy gems and something stirred in my mind.

"Hey! Look at me!" the girl yelled as her shopping cart trundled along the pavement, earning looks of disapproval from passers-by. As the cart rattled and sped across the road, the sounds of brakes screeching and horns honking and angered drivers yelling and waving their fists threateningly melded together to form a distorted melody in her ears. Behind her, her friends came chasing after the cart, laugh and throwing insults at the furious, red-faced drivers.

"So long, suckers!"

"Yeah, see ya!"

"Or not!"

More raucous laughter, then the cacophony increased tenfold as a police siren sounded nearby. The girl and her friends weren't even surprised. Without hesitation, they ran away as fast as they could, still chuckling madly.

A gleam of light in the girl's eyes pulsed and faded. I felt something sharp poke at my hand. I reached into her pocket and pulled out a glass shard, half of it stained with dried blood.

Suddenly, as I peered into the glass shard, I saw my reflection instead of the frozen ground. I gasped.

Staring back at me were the very same black, cat-like eyes. I screamed a dreadful scream as pain shot through every pore of my body and a solid mist descended all around me, obscuring my vision. I kicked and thrashed until-

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A/N: -