Invisible String

Chapter 23 - False God

We reached the cemetery across town, and I hadn't said a word, but neither had Alex. We were both upset, and what could I say? What would make this better? I could've asked how Jaiden found out, but I already assumed it was through some form of social media. Of course, someone who took a picture of Alex at the funeral posted online. Because why would anybody need their privacy during this time?

I stared out the window, barely paying attention to my hometown that we passed through. I guarantee Alex was doing the same, driving but not really fully alert. It's a miracle we made it all the way to the cemetery without rear-ending someone.

We got out of the car quietly, and he walked around to my side then put his arm around me. We walked with the flood of funeral-goers over to the burial site. The casket had already been transported and set up on the pulley-thing that they used to lower it down into the grave.

It was hard to imagine Grandpa in there, just sleeping. Or well... not sleeping, but dead. Dead. The word didn't flow smoothly through my brain. It stopped halfway through and had to work around the vowels, sounding it out. D-ea-d.

How could he be dead?

We reached the grave and stood beside it with the family. My mom, dad, and everyone else had beaten us there because of the conversation, or fight, or whatever you want to call it, Alex and I had before leaving. Mom looked at me, concerned, and I shrugged, then mouthed, 'I'm okay.' She nodded and turned back to my dad. They were talking in hushed voices, like the rest of the group. While it felt like there should be silence, everyone was antsy, waiting for the burial to start. I think most people just wanted to be done crying. And while the wake would be sad, this was the hardest part. Letting go of him, saying goodbye. Even if we had all accepted his presence here, his body would still be six feet underground. And thousands of miles away from me. And that part of him would be gone forever.

It took a while for everyone else to show up, and people kept trickling in after the burial had started, but I stopped noticing. The priest spoke again about Grandpa. This time he told a story about a dog that Grandpa hit. He had rushed it to the vet to save the dog's life, then he gave it to the priest when he found out it didn't have a home. The priest's nieces loved that dog more than anything now. It made us smile for a few seconds, picturing Grandpa like that. He took care of everything.

My mother started crying from the moment the ceremony started and didn't stop until it was over. We each threw a rose onto his casket, and they lowered it soon after, leaving us all with an empty space in our lives where that man we'd always loved would no longer be.

Solemnly, we all got into our cars and drove back to my mother's home. Those who could stay did and followed us there. The house was packed from top to bottom with my family and even more people I'd never met before, so my anxiety flared. Thankfully I still had my handy-dandy little pills, and Alex stayed by my side the entire time, holding onto me tightly, shaking hands, and smiling as politely as he could at a wake.

People came and went, Sandra, being one of them. She hugged my immediate family, then came to me.

"How you doing, sweetie?" She said, brushing her fingers down my arm.

"Hanging in there," I said, letting go of Alex and reaching out to hug her. "How are you?"

"Same. I mean, I know he wasn't my blood, but I loved him just the same."

"I know you did." We pulled back from each other, and I brushed hair off her cheek. "And he loved you so much, Sandra. We all do."

I hugged her tightly once more, then let go. Alex quickly put his hand on my back again, and he wasn't exactly giving Sandra a kind look.