A Rainy Afternoon

A group of mourners stood around a casket as they looked, for the last time, upon the body of the girl in the red dress. She would never breathe again, but she looked peaceful. She would never laugh again, but they knew she was happy. They knew nothing was different, she was only gone until they met her later on in their own journeys.

The day was perfect: a stormy overcast without rain, but with a touch of cool fall air coming in, breaking through the warm lasting breaths of summer. The funeral was small, but sweet, with her friends, immediate family, and her fiancé. The setting was a beautiful casket with a beautiful girl in a red dress, surrounded by tons of flowers (all her favorites): lilies and roses in all colors, lilacs and tulips.

Her fiancé had a very confused attitude towards the girl's funeral. He knew she was in a better place, and she didn't hurt, but he still hadn't taken hold of the situation. He knew what had happened, but couldn't grasp it. He knew that he missed her... he knew that tomorrow he would start his life without her, and he knew he had never dreaded anything else more in his life than he dreaded this. He knew he didn't want to realize what had happened, and what he would have to do to move on. He stood in front of the funeral party, preparing himself to give his speech.

The twenty or so people sat in pews, all wondering what to do next, and contemplating how the girl's death had affected them. She had been sweet; the kind of person you knew you loved, but not why. She had an energy about her that was always infectious, always buzzing through everyone around her; always happy. Now that she was gone, they all missed it, and no one possessed her infectious energy.

Her fiancé gave a small cough, and the quiet chatter died down. He began a poem that she had written a few years back. He had found it sifting through her things and had come across a binder of work that she had written, dating years back. He had never known she wrote, but he had found this poem, and he knew that nothing else in the world could be more appropriate for her goodbye than this.

"On days that I search the sky,
I often wonder why
The butterflies don't come fly
Into the path of my wishful eyes

I often wonder why
Instead of laughing, now, I cry..
And if I didn't look into the sky,
Would all my life not pass me by?

I can hear the rain,
As it lets down its final spray
A gift of the skies from which it came
And it falls upon the day

If I gave up all the rain,
And I just let myself feel pain
I can only smile and say
That I freed myself from my chains

If we don't live now in this time,
Then things will pass us by
If we don't let go the tears
Then how can we begin to cry?

If we don't give up our pride
And let others wipe our eyes
If we don't accept the tide
Then we accept the lies

If we don't let go this pain
Then we cannot feel the rain
If we don't know we can cry
Then we can never dry our eyes.

One day I'll laugh along
As the rain sings me its song
And I will think: 'I've always known
That time will let go on its own.'"

At this last stanza, the girl in the red dress was the only object of imagination in the thoughts of every person in the room. Her fiancé stared at everyone there, joining them in their thoughts. He knew she was gone now... he knew he'd never be the same without her.

The funeral party moved to the burial site, where her grave lay waiting. The final stanza of her poem had been written on her gravestone, and it would be the final twist that gave her fiancé clarification that she was gone, gave him strength, and made him weep all at the same time.

They all stared as the beautiful girl was buried, dead, but always alive in their thoughts. Always radiant and happy, always looking ahead and always looking into herself for an answer. When she had written this poem, she gave the mourners their own answer. She had given them a final gift, even in her death.

"One day I'll laugh along
As the rain sings me its song
And I will think: 'I've always known
That time will let go on its own.'"

A drizzle began as the mourners went on their way, her fiancé lingering for a moment longer than anyone else. Letting the rain take care of his pain, he knew she had given him that gift.