beat nineteen
Sorry for the update taking so long. I re-wrote this chapter a few times. Nana's funeral was hard to write, so I hope I did a good job.
Her hands shook. The sky was just adorned with snowflakes, and her eyes were stinging. The monotonic voice of the priest was low, and the cold- as usual- did nothing except numb her senses. There was not more than twenty people; but the funeral barely started.
She had shook hands with Ace's parents, who looked at her with teary eyes, and hugged both his sister and brother. His sister was the girl she saw at school, the one that attracted everybody's attention with her beauty. His brother shared the same eyes, but not half as magnifying. He was older, around twenty three, and he looked at Eden like a long-lost sister.
Ace's hand held hers the entire time. She clutched it firmly, seeking any kind of comfort that he could provide. She thought of that moment, trying to stand on her own feet that seemed to be giving out. She could not separate from her grandmother- the only person stopping the eternal storm.
"I assume her granddaughter wants to say her last goodbye," the priest said, and Eden looked at him. She nodded after a while, knowing she had to do it. The people, who's faces were familiar but they didn't seem to place themselves in the great puzzle, looked at her with sympathy, and she hated those kind of glances. She noticed Mr Peters along the crowd- he looked at her with his lips in a thin line, and she let out a shaky breath.
She looked at Ace, knowing she should do it on her own. She nodded, after his questioning eyes found hers, and with one last squeeze, she let go. The dress dragged after her as she walked, and as she stood next to the priest, in front of the coffin her grandmother lay in, she took a breath.
Her eyes found Ace's soon, and as she shook her head, he was again at her side, holding her hand. Her heart was beating a million beats per second, but so was his. She focused on the closed coffin in the ground, closing her eyes, and re-opening them, she imagined her grandmother along the crowd.
"I never had much to say," she started, "but Nana never needed my words to know what I thought. She never needed roses and boxes of chocolate to make her feel appreciated and loved, because her worth was measured beyond small gestures that I could give with the little money I had. The biggest gesture that cannot even begin to describe her worth as a person, however, was taking in a granddaughter that didn't even remember her. But I loved her. I love her.
And I think that's the most I could have ever given her, since I could have never given much. And after all this time, I never got her roses. But I brought them today. And I'm sorry that this time, all I can do is bring roses. They're just flowers. And I love her. But I can't tell her that anymore, so roses are the next best thing. So I guess, thank you everyone, for the flowers."
The silence was enough to tell her that people drank in her words. She felt a tear sliding down her cheek, and Ace's grip on her hand, and the cold, and the wind.
She looked up at him as they took a few steps back, their shoes muddy. She had not expected what she saw. His eyes were red, full of tears, much like his sister's, who was blowing into her tissue. His brother stood by with a curt expression, but his own eyes were filled with the liquid. She sighed, listening as the prayer started.
"Why don't you pray?" Ace asked, as everyone's hands around came together.
"I don't believe in God," she whispered, "but times like this, I wish I had faith in something, to make it easier. How can you believe in a God, when he takes away someone you love?"
"I asked myself the same question," he whispered, "so I placed my faith elsewhere."
Eden was breaking more than she ever had. But she didn't cry except for the few stray tears that fell down her cheeks. Ace's mother rubbed her arm in reassurance a few times, and Eden found the gesture comforting.
"Lie to me," she whispered after some time. Ace seemed torn and pained, but she needed to hear it.
"I love you," he said, hating that she counted it as a lie. He hated it more than anything, but he couldn't do anything in that moment. It was not the time. She needed to part from the one person in her life she had left, before Ace came back.
The funeral seemed to go on forever. She didn't know weather she wanted to stay in the moment and cherish her last moments with her grandmother-that Nana wouldn't even witness-or go to sleep.
However, the people soon started leaving, just as the priest did.
"I want to stay until everyone leaves," Eden said, and Ace nodded. What she had not expected was his whole family staying. They stood at a distance, letting them part from Nana, but close enough to let them know they were there.
"Eden," Mr Peterson said as he came up to her. "Ace."
"Hello," Ace said, knowing Eden was not in the mood to talk.
"I am so sorry for your loss," he told her. She nodded.
"If there is anything I can do," he offered.
"Thank you, you have already done a lot just by offering help," Eden said, "but we both know I cannot accept anything material from you. So just thank you for coming."
He nodded. "I suppose you aren't going back to school soon?"
"I don't know," she said, "I just need to figure it all out."
By 'it', she didn't even know what she meant. But there was something that needed figuring out, that was certain.
When everyone left, Eden didn't know where to go. She felt like she was going to completely break soon, and she couldn't go home; simply because it couldn't even feel like home anymore.
"Eden," Ace softly spoke, "I know you probably don't want to go home. My mom offered staying at our place, and we'll figure everything out later. You need a break now."
She nodded, agreeing. "I hope I'm not-"
"Too much trouble?" he interjected. "Don't you dare even say it. I've got your back, don't worry love."
Love. Her heart did a little flip, and she silently thanked him. She kissed his cheek, resting her forehead on his shoulder.
"I need a moment alone with her," Eden whispered, looking at the wooden sign with Nana's name on it, and she felt weight on her chest and shoulders.
"Of course," he said, letting go of her hand slowly and walking towards his parents and siblings. His father patted him on the back, and they engaged in a silent conversation as Eden knelt on the ground, the one place that wasn't muddy.
"Nana," she started, "I didn't mean to be such a bad granddaughter to you. You deserved better than what I gave you. But forgive me for being young and not knowing what to do, because you're the one that I asked for advice and now, I'm just kind of lost.
"I'll still talk to you about everything though. I'll still come to you all the time with all the silly things I thought, that you'd laugh at and assure me you'd take care of everything.
"And most of all, I'm sorry you didn't see the snow. They say it's going to be quite a white winter this year. And I'm sorry, for being your storm."
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Eden looked behind her and at Ace and his family. They didn't look at her, giving her privacy. Her gaze never left Ace and his tired figure. He glanced at Eden occasionally, just to make sure she was still there. He felt like she was going to disappear again.
Looking back at Nana's grave, she let out a sigh.
"Nana, what do I do?" she asked, fiddling with the sleeves of the dress.
"I think I might love him. And I don't think I wanted to love him. I think I just do. And I wonder, does he feel it too?" Or is it just a lie he tells, to make her feel better.
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