The Funeral

The young man stepped out the door of his quaint, modest home. Outside the sunlight seemed to gently roll over hills and fields of his Irish homeland. As the clouds from the departing storms rushed away to plague the villages northward, the sun continued to glaze the landscape, brightening the scenery that just moments ago had seemed so dark and lifeless. As the sunlight swept across the steps of the man's house and finally lit his face, a smile began to form and his entire being seemed to radiate warmth. The endless sea of green grass covering the rolling hills of the Irish landscape seemed to stand taller as if trying to reach for the sun which had been hidden from them. The trees scattered throughout the neighborhood began to spread their branches in order to feel the heat in their limbs. And all around, the people began to walk from houses to see the light which the fleeing storms had guarded. To many, Ireland had never looked as beautiful as it did on that morning. The storms which had been haunting the land were now gone and in their place was a feeling of joy, brought on by the awakening nature.

Now the man standing in his doorway was dressed well, but not in the type of fashion typical for such a beautiful day. His pants were stark black, as was his shirt. Although he seemed to glow in the light of the new day, his appearance was a stark reminder of the horrible storms. This was how the man looked every day, although today he wasn't wearing the tweed hat which he had usually used to cover his face from the world. But, today he had a purpose in dressing the way he did. He had a funeral to get to. Usually the storms would've been the correct weather for such an occasion, but the undeniable beauty of the day seemed oddly fitting.

Before the man left for the funeral, he walked back into his house to check on one thing. The fire was still burning in the fireplace and his breakfast was still sitting on the table, untouched. The light shining through the windows illuminated the dust covering almost everything in the home. As he walked into his bedroom, still searching for the one thing he had gone in to find, a bright light near the bed caught his eye. All the sunlight coming through the only window in the room seemed to be concentrated on one object. The glass bottle appeared to be shining as if the light originated from it, instead of coming through the window. Through the top half of the bottle, the light which flowed across the walls was as clear as a perfect diamond. The bottom half however let off a glow the color of amber, leaving a burnt color across the floor. This bottle had been what the man was looking for. He walked over to the bottle and held it in his hands. Instead of twisting the cap off and taking a swig as he had done many, many times over the past few years, he lifted the bottle over his head and smashed it on the ground. Shards of glass flew across the room leaving the appearance that it had rained crystals in the room. The amber fluid which had been in the bottle now covered the hardwood floor. The man left everything as it was. The glass and alcohol covering his room, his breakfast still on the table, and the fire still burning strong in the fireplace and he walked out the door.

In a small open field where the man had played as a child, he now stood looking at the hole in the ground and the casket beside it. The hole was far deeper than most are for burials and the coffin was far more intricate and beautiful than most could afford. There was nobody else around, just the man standing there looking at the hole and the casket. He had dug the hole himself and had spent years building and carving the casket all by himself. No wives stood there mourning. No children were around to ask why. No men where there to comfort, besides him. He was all alone to witness the event, and probably nobody would believe that it had ever happened.

He walked forward, stepping slowly up to the hole and the casket. He put his hand down and touched his handiwork and remembered the many nights he had spent up working on this, and the many people who had said it couldn't be done. Well he was there now and everything he had said he would accomplish had been accomplished. Now, he stood tall and prepared himself to perform the last task he needed to move on and forget. After a few minutes and many tears, he put his foot up against the side of the casket and pushed with all his strength. The casket fell in what appeared to be slow motion until it finally hit solid ground. The sound made wasn't what one would expect to hear. Instead of a soft thud, all that was heard was the sound of breaking glass.

As the man walked back to his home the tears continued to pour from his eyes. He stopped and took a minute to get his bearing. The man grabbed his pitch black shirt and ripped the buttons from it and it fell off his arms onto the ground. He also removed his pants, right there in the middle of the fields. Underneath was a pair of jeans and he was wearing a plain white shit. Now, he seemed to glow even more. The light appeared to swirl around him as he cried. At that moment, everything was right.

As he got closer to his house, he noticed smoke coming from the direction he was heading. This smoke wasn't the small amount he had left coming out of his chimney. This was the smoke of a home burning. As he walked closer, he saw his house. The fire was coming out of the windows, especially the one in his bedroom. He stood there gazing at his home, and suddenly the tears stopped. The man simply smiled and walked away, leaving his house to burn to the ground along with his past. Earlier he had buried his past far beneath the soil. And the rest had now taken care of itself. He walked away that day with no more tears. His memories were gone and all that he had in front of him now was a new beginning. The person he had been was buried and burnt and now he was free to start again.

As he continued to walk away, unsure of where he would go, the sun continued to shine around him and all of nature seemed to stand taller as he walked past. The smile continued to grow wider with every step he took, leaving behind everything he had been. Everyone had told him, he would never be able to accomplish what he had. But, he had proven them wrong. The man he had once been was now dead, and he was free to live. Although he had nothing to him name, he now had the freedom he longed for. Freedom from his past and freedom to create a new future. From that day on, regardless of whatever anyone said, the sun never stopped shining for him.