Before the Funeral

Hello, dear reader!

It’s going to be a quick one today.

And I know that’s not always been a proclamation that’s proven particularly accurate, but this time I mean it.

You see, today there’s something I need to do, and it’s not something I’m looking forward to.

In Memoriam
I’m talking about a memorial service that I’m scheduled to attend this afternoon (I’m writing this on the morning of the18th of September). Not of anyone I was particularly close to. Not a family member or close friend. But a memorial service all the same, and to be honest, I’m strangely nervous about it.

The service is being held at the local Salvation Army Hall, a venue I know well, due to Tina’s long standing association with the church, and it’s being held in memory of a gentleman named Terry. This is a man who, from my own sparse and not entirely enthusiastic attendance of ‘The Army’ (The ‘big’ days, Christmas, Easter, the odd wedding or christening, I’ll sometimes get dragged there—kicking and screaming purely optional) I was only ever really on nodding terms with.

But still, it’s a sombré occasion. An occasion that, religious trappings aside, necessarily lead to reflections on the value of a life, and the nature of death. There will no doubt be tears, and stories told of a man I never really took the time to know too well. Maybe I’ll reflect on that, too.

Serious Thoughts
Church is only ever an ordeal for me. It is, if you’ll pardon the pun, a cross to bear, an hour or two that could always be better spent. 

Today will be different. Today will hold a deeper, more poignant meaning, and I think that's one reason I’m feeling so uneasy. Today will be an emotionally charged, serious thoughts type of day for all in attendance.

I still won’t sing the songs or say the prayers. I never do. Not out of any form of disrespect, but because as an atheist they hold no meaning for me, and I know they hold a lot of meaning for other people. The way I see it, mouthing sentiments I don’t believe would actually be disrespectful.

So, I’ll bow my head, keep my peace, and take the time to reflect on a life I didn’t really know, the inevitable pull of bereavement, loss, and what it might mean to face my own final curtain. A moment or two of quiet contemplation and introspection.

But not something to look forward to.


Until next time.


#


Hey, there! If you enjoyed reading any of the above, why not take a look at some of my published work? Below you’ll find links to a number of short stories I’m lucky enough to have included in anthologies. I’d love to know what you think.


New Tales Of Old


Death Ship


Pestilence: Drabbles 1


Reaperman: Drabbles 3


The Musketeers Vs Cthulhu


Eldritch Investigations