My Reality (Trafalgar Law X Reader) | One Piece

Chapter 7

You sit numbly between your parents on a cold wooden bench like the rows of others in the building. Everything smells of heat and sweat. In front of you some man drawls on about what a wonderful person your brother was, as if he would know after never even meeting said person.

A coffin lies on a stone table containing the person who had protected you from bullies, taught you how ride a bike and entertained you as you both grew up. He had finally reached a stage in life where he had been happy and had a future he was looking forwards to. But all of that had suddenly been stolen from him in a single moment of bad luck.

You want to cry but the tears won't come so instead you stare blankly at the wooden box.

Your mother had not handled the idea of her son's body being erased through cremation so well so your father had organised an old fashioned burial.

A few of your brother's friends stand up to talk a bit about him then your father does the same thing. You don't listen to them.

The casket is taken in a hearse and some refreshments are offered. The guests eat and give your parents their condolences before moving on to share some of their memories about your brother.

You stay seated on the bench, unable to eat anything offered to you.

Eventually most of the guests pile into their own cars to follow the path of the hearse to the cemetery where the burial stage of the funeral is about to begin.

You quietly follow your parents into your father's nice car and stare out of the window at the trees as you pass them.

Seven cars park in the car park beside the grassy cemetery and people make their way to the recently dug ground where your brother will be laid to rest.

The heat is stifling in your black clothes and you curse your mother for making you wear tights which are not helping you cool down at all. None of the twenty people under the harsh sun are wearing appropriate clothing for the weather. Everyone wears dark long formal clothes and no one is happy about it.

Even now, watching the coffin containing your brother get lowered into the earth, your eyes remain dry.

Your father stands next to the coffin with a large frown while your mother is comforted by her parents, who are crying with her.

As the dirt is layered on top of the coffin people begin to take their leave, hardly communicating with each other.

Your grandparents take your mother back to their country house with them, hoping that a change in scenery will help her cope a little bit. You watch as they drive away and stand silently beside the new grave until the only people left are you and your father.

The blond man walks over to stand beside you.

"Have you thought about my proposition?" He asks, getting straight to the point.

"The business thing?" your voice croaks slightly from lack of use.

"Yes. Are you interested?" He pushes for a proper answer.

"Why would you ask me at a time like this" your voice is barely a whisper. "That's what he was going to do. That was his future." Your voice cracks as you speak "How could you ask me if I want to take over his future at this time, in this place?" You motion to the newly settled dirt in front of you.

"It was something he may have done, yes, but he is unable to take on the job and I need to know about your future. Why should we focus on something that will never happen when you are standing right here?" His voice seems almost devoid of emotion. It is probably easier for him to feel nothing.

"So, will you answer the question?" Your father has grown impatient, creases becoming obvious of his forehead.

"I- I can't answer you yet." You stumble over the words. "I think I need to figure out who I am and what I want"

Your father sighs, calming himself down.

"Graduation night. That's when you have to give me your final answer." He orders before turning away from the grave and stalking towards the car.

You stand still for a minute. His true aggressive and pressuring nature has not shown up much recently. Usually he manages to mask it with kindness and you've only seen him like this a few other times, when he had argued with your brother. He had never acted like that to you before and you shake from the strange encounter.

'It's probably just the stress of the funeral' you try to reassure yourself. You calm yourself down and follow your fuming father to the car where he drives home in an uncomfortable silence.

It is only once the car is parked in the driveway and you are about to get out he speaks.

"I'm going on a business trip tonight so you'll be on your own for a few days" he then exits the car, leaving you alone.

Within half an hour he has packed and left.

Alone in the large house at the cusp of dusk, you are not sure what to do. You wander around and find yourself in your brother's room. It is completely empty and only some marks in the walls from posters show that anyone was ever there.

You sit down in the middle of the room and start to cry. At first it's just tears running slowly down your cheeks but soon you are fully sobbing and gasping for breath, holding yourself and failing to keep everything contained. You feel really alone, as if there is no one in the world who would spare a second to even think about you. The small amount of light that had come through the window vanishes. Your sobbing fades as you curl up into a ball on the floor and drift to sleep.