It was early in the morning yet the Chapel had started to fill up with people dressed in black. The chilly air engulfed them and the sun's rays were faint, softly filtering through the heavy rain clouds that hung constantly over Gotham.

Richard was receiving the people entering the hall where the service was going to be held. His features were pale, looking even whiter in the black suit he wore, the blue of his eyes flickering towards every face present in the hall but unable to recognize most of them.

Jason on the other hand was standing in a corner with Elliot and the rest of Neal's little friends who had come to bid him their last goodbye. Sarah's face was tear stained as she held onto Andrew's hand.

The casket placed in the center held Neal's body and none of the people there had yet approached it, as if reluctant to see the once spectacular man who seemed to burn in a fire of his own being reduced to a mere corpse.

"Officer Grayson?"

Richard halted to see who had addressed him, the faint voice sounding somewhat familiar. And when he turned he realized why; Rose Gibson was standing there, her wide grey irises full to the brim with tears.

"Miss Gibson," he acknowledged her but couldn't bring himself to say any word of assurance.

By then the hall was almost full and most of the people present were from Neal's circle of friends. A few representatives from the press were there too though they were not creating a scene, respecting the reverence of the event and place.

"I came as soon as I found out... Jason told me..." 

Her voice was shaking and Richard found himself recalling the day she had come to the GCPD headquarters in order to bail Neal out. The concern on her features was the same if not worse, but the painful difference was that there was no way left that she could bring Neal back.

She had not been able to bail him out that once because he had refused. And right then, the situation wasn't much different except for the fact that he would never be returning from the place where he had ascended to.

The service began and after its conclusion, the people were allowed to see Neal for the last time before the lid of the casket would finally be closed forever. Sarah placed a bouquet of white roses on top of his crossed hands and her lip quivered slightly seeing him lying there so still.

Rose stood beside her, a hand resting on her dainty shoulder, streaks of tears rolling down her cheek as well. Her eyes couldn't leave Neal's pristine features that had relaxed to an eternal peace in death. 

At last, the lid of the casket was closed hiding Neal from view and then shortly after, the casket was taken to the cemetery to be buried six feet under.

Rose couldn't bring herself to follow the others outside so she stayed there, with all of Neal's little friends huddled around her because they had known her back when she and Neal were dating.

"How did it happen...?" Her voice was shaking and Elliot made her sit down on a chair. The boy was managing the rest of the younger children very well too, just like an elder brother.

And as Rose listened to Elliot explaining what he had found out from Jason and Richard regarding Neal's death, her mind was constantly drifting towards how he somehow always knew that his end would come much sooner than expected.

He had never told her that straight out but his cryptic remarks were enough to make her connect the dots. How he knew was still a mystery to her but it seemed too hard to ignore the fact now that all his cryptic statements had come true.

Her grey eyes flickered towards Barbara who was on her wheelchair with Lydia and Jim Gordon standing beside her. Lydia's features were just as pale as her own and she was gently holding Barbara's arm as if reassuring her that she was not alone.

And though Rose had not known what connection Barbara Gordon had to Neal, right then seeing her was like looking into a mirror because the woman looked as if she had lost the person she loved most, as if her support had crumbled and left her to face everything on her own.

***

The reception after the funeral was to be held in the same chapel so that Neal's friends could share some of their memories with all the mourners present.

The podium was open to anyone who wished to come up and share their thoughts. Jason was the first among his friends to stand up and took his place behind the podium.

"First, I would like to thank all of you for showing up today," there was a slight waver in his tone for though he appeared calm and collected, deep down he felt just as sorrowful as the rest of them.

"And I would like to take this chance to tell you exactly who you were attending the service of. I bet all of you have seen the news, the overexaggerated accounts that rage on television and it pains me to see how people commercialize death for their own media ratings," his voice had turned sharp at that, stormy eyes locking with the press representatives but then he added in a lower tone, "but I will not say more on that. I believe this time should be utilized to share with you all what really matters."

Utter silence gripped the hall and his voice though soft and sorrowful echoed through the vaulted space. "You all must have known Neal as a singer, a host for the concerts held in Iceberg Lounge, a troublemaker and I'm sure most of you still think of him as such. But the truth is that deep down he was not like the masks he used to put on for the world to see."

That sentence struck Rose deep for she could clearly recall her conversation with him in which he had told her of Japanese myth called the Mononoke; a spiritless being wearing masks to conceal its emptiness.

Barbara's sorrowful green eyes were locked on to Jason, listening in to each word he had to say, her hand still held in Lydia's.

"To me and my friends, Neal was family. He was a caregiver, a close friend, an older brother and in some cases even a father figure. He looked out for us when no one else did. He helped us out when we had nothing to eat and no place to sleep. He must have seemed a careless person who could do anything for the adrenaline rush, but he was much more than that. Much more than what people thought of him."

Jason paused for a short while, the memories overwhelming as he talked so he took a moment to compose himself before resuming with the memory that had just flashed in his head, making a sad smile break out on his face.

"There was one time I told him, and please excuse my language, I told him that just because you look like a motherfucker, doesn't mean you are one. He had laughed it off saying maybe he really was how he looked like. And let me tell all of you, if you think that of him then he would be very pleased that his act paid off."

Rose felt Sarah's hand tighten on her and she gently lifted the girl onto her lap, her arms wrapped around the child comfortingly. Richard was standing in a corner listening to every word Jason uttered closely, his eyes reminiscent of sorrow.

"Death took him away from us too soon and even though the time he had with us was very short, still he managed to make the most out of it. He stood by us, supported us, cared for us and now when he is not with us, his memories are going to remain in our hearts forever. I wish that he finds peace where he is currently. And I am certain that place would be loads better than this city we call our home."

His account had been touching such that the silence in the audience had not been broken even once for every single person present listened closely.

"In the end I would just add that we pass by many people on a daily basis, we judge them by what little amount we see of them and we form an opinion regarding their personalities just from those tiny glimpses we get in passing. That's exactly what people did with Neal, forming opinions on him, labeling him without even finding out who he really was deep inside, without even seeing what laid under the mask... And as I leave this podium, I also leave one question with you to ponder on seriously; do you think it is fair to label someone merely based on short glimpses? I hope you find the right answer. Once again, thank you very much for coming and for listening. And if you wished Neal well then I thank you for that too on his behalf."

He descended the podium at last, his stormy eyes welling up as he came to stand by Richard who patted his back affectionately, hand resting on his shoulder.

Elliot took the podium next and his account was nothing short of emotional either. After him, Lydia delivered her own eulogy.

It seemed as if people were expecting Barbara to say something but the woman seemed in a state of shock, watching and listening to everything but not able to comprehend it. 

Richard glanced at Rose and dipped his head in a nod as if gesturing her to step up instead. She took in a deep breath and then stood up, feeling all eyes on her as she stepped at the podium.

Her hands had gone cold from stage fright at seeing such a lot of people sitting in front of her, waiting for her to speak up.

But then she thought of Neal and she thought about what he would like to hear from her at that moment, if he was present too. And she took another deep breath, composing herself before beginning.

"My name is Rose Gibson and I met Neal four years ago at Daley Primary School. He used to teach English to fifth grade and I had applied for a job there," though at first her voice was shaking, it gradually retained the usual faint timbre as she resumed, "Neal was not always a singer and a concert host. Years ago he had taken multiple jobs and being a school teacher was one of them. He had always been very compassionate towards children, calling them his little friends and doing all he possibly could to help them out. I have known him when he was just Neal, another face in the crowd to vanish within, and then I have also known him as Neal Hastings, a brilliant spark of light in this otherwise dark city... What changed in him, I don't know but to me he was perfect with all his little imperfections, his cryptic statements, his kind words and his subtle ways of making sure that he sufficed for everything else... And even I never found out what kind of a man he really was deep inside all those appearances he had put up. But what I know is that he was truly one of a kind. He always used to say that he was temporary like a white rose. He always used to tell me that one day he would fade just like the flower wilts. But I was to remember him for all the good times I shared with him, all the memories I had of him and keep them cherished just like one cherishes the beautiful scent of a rose."

Her voice broke at those words and her hands reached out to cover her eyes that were pouring with tears. 

"He somehow always knew he was going to die young. Somehow... And now that he's gone I... I can't help but think how short his time was with us that we never really got to know him. Me, Jason, Elliot, Lydia, Andrew, Peter and Sarah... Dianne who is no longer with us too... Officer Grayson and Barbara Gordon... We came closer to Neal in this very short time that he had. And though I sometimes wonder what it would be like if he had lived longer, but I find myself thinking that maybe he would not want that. He believed that things are beautiful because they are finite, he believed life was short and fleeting and that is the beauty of it..."

And with those words, an accepting emotion flickered on her face as if she had finally come to terms with it all despite it being sorrowful.

"He used to sing a song on what would happen when he was gone... How everything would be the same and yet so different simultaneously. But with time everything would be fine. We would be fine... All we have to do is give it time..."

She looked up and saw that the crowd was looking back at her with awestruck faces, as if they hadn't expected to hear such a lot about Neal and find it so contrasting to what they had always thought about him.

Even Barbara Gordon who had seemed so hauntingly still before, had tears in her eyes and her beautiful green eyes were looking straight at Rose as if thinking something. Though before that she had seemed quite blank as if frozen from shock, right then hearing all that Rose had to say, Barbara's face had a flicker of sadness and deep longing etched on her features.

"Thank you for bearing with me. And I would conclude by answering Jason's question... It is unfair to judge anyone on brief glimpses. Even after four years I am conflicted about Neal even though I know for a fact that he was too good for this world. So how could I or anyone for that instance judge people based on just what they look like, or do or spend their time in... That's all from my side, thank you so much."

Lydia hugged her tightly right as she stepped down from the podium and she gratefully wrapped her arms around the girl's thin frame, holding her close. She needed a comforting shoulder to rest her head on and cry, letting go of all the tears and sorrow building up inside her. And Lydia, who had a quick eye for observing when people needed something, had not hesitated to offer her own shoulder.

That was the most beautiful thing about the people who had been close to Neal, especially his little friends who saw him as a protector and sincere friend. They were all so different but deep down their compassion tied them together with an inseverable knot. And in that instant when he was no longer with them, they were still knit together tightly, just like a strange sort of family.

Neal's family.

When Rose pulled apart, her eyes locked with Barbara's again and she felt that urge to go up to her and talk to her, probably try to console her somehow. But she knew it was impossible because she could see that she had indeed loved Neal just like Rose had done so.

And if that was the case, then it was going to take a very long time for Barbara to step out of the terrible loneliness she had had to face after Neal. And no words could console her right then, only time could act as an ointment on the deep hollow left in her heart where Neal Hastings used to be.

***