people there, including many people I did not know. Almost all of them were wearing black, and their faces looked sorrowful. There were groups of people huddled together, standing close, whispering to one another.
As we walked outside, people told us that they were sorry for our loss. They all seemed to blur together after a while.
My emotions were all over the place. I was nervous because of all the people, frightened that my parents were gone, and anxious for the day to end already. My heart pounded, and I attempted to take slow, deep breaths as we walked through the crowd of people.
I saw Ava, my mother’s best friend’s daughter whom I had to dance with at balls. She was standing next to her mother, holding her hand. She saw me, so she smiled. I attempted to smile back, but I could not do it. Then I looked to Deleena and Leala and nodded to them that I was okay. I let go of their hands to make my way over to Ava.
“How are you?” she asked as I walked closer.
“I really do not know. Honestly, I am so confused about how to feel,” I informed her.
“I am really sorry that you lost your mommy and daddy. I do not know what I would do without …” Her words trailed off.
“I understand. Somehow I will get through, I hope. We should play together soon,” I mentioned.
“That would be great. Especially now that you are a whole year older than me!” She giggled.
Ava then tugged on her mother’s dress.
“Can we have a play date soon? Please?” she asked her mother.
“Let us give him some time to adjust to everything, and then we will,” she informed her daughter, who was twirling around in her black dress.
I walked away from them to find Deleena again. After I found her, we walked over and found our seats in the front row of chairs. Leala came over to sit on the other side of me, and Russel sat on the other side of her.
The priest came to the front of the crowd and began speaking about my parents.
“We came here today to celebrate the lives of …”
After that, everything began to fade away. I started thinking about my parents and the recurring nightmare I had about them. While I sat there, I replayed the whole horrific nightmare in my mind.
Suddenly I was transported to the forest, and I saw the creature walk up to my parents. He began to chant as he came closer to them. I could never understand what the creature said, because it was in a language that I had never heard of before. He began,
Cura somakla dom
quope jov tari
xes wo pola vatria
chan dy ma na
vic tor iya
spen ci er.
But this time was different; I actually understood part of the chant. He said it again:
Cura somakla dom
quope jov tari
xes wo pola vatria …
When he started to say the last part, I heard,
In a year’s time, things will change
from what is known
to something strange.
I shook my head and was brought back to the funeral.
Did I really understand part of that? What does it mean?
My eyes widened as I pondered this. I must have started to squeeze Deleena’s and Leala’s hands, because they both looked at me. Honestly, I had no idea what was going on at the funeral, because I was concentrating on the dream.
The priest ended by saying, “We give our hearts and prayers to this family. Let us shower love on them during this hard time.”
That was it? It seemed as if the service had lasted fewer than ten minutes. According to Leala, it had been more like an hour and a half. I had been so caught up in thinking about my parents and understanding part of the chant.
After the priest finished, everyone stood up to make his or her way over to us. Russel, Deleena, Leala, and I stood by the priest. My parents had known so many people; many people I did not know came up to give us their condolences. Some left flowers; others left letters or gifts.
People hung around for a while; some stayed until sunset. Many people told me how much they had loved Mother and Papa, and they told me how much I
As we walked outside, people told us that they were sorry for our loss. They all seemed to blur together after a while.
My emotions were all over the place. I was nervous because of all the people, frightened that my parents were gone, and anxious for the day to end already. My heart pounded, and I attempted to take slow, deep breaths as we walked through the crowd of people.
I saw Ava, my mother’s best friend’s daughter whom I had to dance with at balls. She was standing next to her mother, holding her hand. She saw me, so she smiled. I attempted to smile back, but I could not do it. Then I looked to Deleena and Leala and nodded to them that I was okay. I let go of their hands to make my way over to Ava.
“How are you?” she asked as I walked closer.
“I really do not know. Honestly, I am so confused about how to feel,” I informed her.
“I am really sorry that you lost your mommy and daddy. I do not know what I would do without …” Her words trailed off.
“I understand. Somehow I will get through, I hope. We should play together soon,” I mentioned.
“That would be great. Especially now that you are a whole year older than me!” She giggled.
Ava then tugged on her mother’s dress.
“Can we have a play date soon? Please?” she asked her mother.
“Let us give him some time to adjust to everything, and then we will,” she informed her daughter, who was twirling around in her black dress.
I walked away from them to find Deleena again. After I found her, we walked over and found our seats in the front row of chairs. Leala came over to sit on the other side of me, and Russel sat on the other side of her.
The priest came to the front of the crowd and began speaking about my parents.
“We came here today to celebrate the lives of …”
After that, everything began to fade away. I started thinking about my parents and the recurring nightmare I had about them. While I sat there, I replayed the whole horrific nightmare in my mind.
Suddenly I was transported to the forest, and I saw the creature walk up to my parents. He began to chant as he came closer to them. I could never understand what the creature said, because it was in a language that I had never heard of before. He began,
Cura somakla dom
quope jov tari
xes wo pola vatria
chan dy ma na
vic tor iya
spen ci er.
But this time was different; I actually understood part of the chant. He said it again:
Cura somakla dom
quope jov tari
xes wo pola vatria …
When he started to say the last part, I heard,
In a year’s time, things will change
from what is known
to something strange.
I shook my head and was brought back to the funeral.
Did I really understand part of that? What does it mean?
My eyes widened as I pondered this. I must have started to squeeze Deleena’s and Leala’s hands, because they both looked at me. Honestly, I had no idea what was going on at the funeral, because I was concentrating on the dream.
The priest ended by saying, “We give our hearts and prayers to this family. Let us shower love on them during this hard time.”
That was it? It seemed as if the service had lasted fewer than ten minutes. According to Leala, it had been more like an hour and a half. I had been so caught up in thinking about my parents and understanding part of the chant.
After the priest finished, everyone stood up to make his or her way over to us. Russel, Deleena, Leala, and I stood by the priest. My parents had known so many people; many people I did not know came up to give us their condolences. Some left flowers; others left letters or gifts.
People hung around for a while; some stayed until sunset. Many people told me how much they had loved Mother and Papa, and they told me how much I
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