||My Invisible Wound||

||Living in the Darkness||

   c h a p t e r | t w e n t y - o n e

     It was the day of my funeral. Obviously, it wasn't going to be happy. In fact, everyone who was going to go to it, wasn't going to be the only ones who would cry.

      As I was waiting for my parents to leave the house, I was in my bedroom. While I went to the mirror, I noticed something. I was able to see myself, but my body was different. I was thin, and dressed in a white dress.

      My hands touched my thin abdominal; my fingers grazing against the dress as if I would shatter into millions of pieces. A tear streamed down.

      You didn't have to die to become thin.

      "I know," I told myself.

      My mouth opened again, but I closed it right away. I didn't need to fight with myself.

      I heard the front door slam. "They're leaving," I said and darted for the door. My parents had gotten into the car, while I climbed in myself in the back, and left for the cemetery.

                                                                           :c:

There was a priest, a few teachers of mine from school, Jake, Evan, Elyes, and a few classmates that I sort of talked to that was at the funeral, besides my family of course.

      Before the priest started, my parents met each person and had gotten condolences. They talked about me as I just stood there on the sidelines, not being able to say a thing.

      But before the service started, a small car—that was falling apart, it looked like—drove up and parked on the side with the other cars. A girl stepped out with a black hat and dark sunglasses as she walked up to meet everyone else. "I'm sorry for the wait," she said. The voice sounded very familiar. She walked up to my parents and shook their hands. "My condolences to your family, Mr. and Mrs. Osborn." She didn't smile. In fact, she sounded very sincere.

      "Thank you." My parents slightly smiled and everyone went back to the service.

      Elyes slid his way toward her. Leaning in, he whispered, "What are you doing here, Paige?"

      "Paige? What's that bitch doing here?" I said, realizing how it had been a while since we last spoke.

      "We'll talk after the service, okay?" She then paid attention to the funeral service as the priest was in the middle of a prayer.

      "O Lord, who has created us and called us to come home to you. Give us hearts of wisdom, that we may understand how short life is and thus receive every new day as a gift. Give us a living faith in your son Jesus Christ, who suffered death for our sins, who rose from the grave to give us a hope and who lives forever. Teach us daily to die from sin and to live according to your holy will. At the moment o four death, make us ready to depart in peace. And when the eternal day of resurrection dawns upon the graves of the earth, grant us grace to rise to eternal life."

      "Amen," everyone said.

      "Now," said the priest. "A few words from Elyes, Alysha's best friend."

      Elyes walked slowly to the casket,turning around to face everyone. "There isn't much to say in my own words. But um . . . she was an amazing person; she could laugh and get entertained by anything and almost everything. But within the past few months, her mouth rarely would curve into a smile. She was in serious pain and I always feel like it's my fault because she relied on me to keep her safe. And I never knew how much pain she really was in until she . . ." He blinked, allowing a tear to fall. "She . . ." He breathed in and tried again. "Until she left us."