𝐜𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 - 𝐡𝐲𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐧

二

I always felt a bit awkward being at work while someone's casket was lowered into the ground. I felt like it would be disrespectful of me to clean up anywhere near the groups of mourners, and in the weeks following the burial I was terrified to disturb the plot of the recently deceased.

A few months into my job, I saw one such burial. But it wasn't like most I had seen. There were no wreaths of flowers or framed photos of their loved one. There was no big crowd and no hysterical crying. There were simply three people dressed in black standing solemnly as they watched the casket lowered into the frozen earth. None of them shivered despite the bitter November cold. None of them said a word, perfectly still and silent. None of them even threw a handful of dirt into the grave as a final farewell. They just left.

Only a couple of days later, I saw someone standing at the grave. She stared at the ground, at the fresh dirt, and her hair fell into her face. Her face was pale, her eyes sunken, and her hands shook nonstop. Out of nowhere, she turned her head and looked at me. I was caught, and I felt like I had to say something after staring at her. I leaned my rake against the fence and approached her carefully.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," I said, "Was this a friend of yours?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I knew her a long time. Nobody really expected her to die," she muttered, "We didn't even have a real funeral for her. Only her immediate family cared to show up and say goodbye to her."

"And now you, too," I added, "She's lucky to have a friend so considerate to come and pay her respects. Can I ask, why weren't you here with her family when she was buried?"

The girl chuckled sadly and explained, "I didn't want to bother them. They never really liked me too much, and I wanted them to be able to give her a proper sendoff. So I waited."

Unsure of what else to say or do, I simply said, "If you visit again and would like somebody to talk to, I'll be here. So sorry for bothering you, I'll leave you alone with your friend now."

"Thanks."

pretend this was posted on the correct day