The Funeral Style

Chapter Thirteen

Mr. Parity is that guy in my head that wanted a better life. I'm just being a good mom.

Chapter Thirteen

"This is where we dress and prepare the corpse for burial." Mr. Parity said as we both walked into a windowless room. I was instantly greeted with the freezing temperature of the area, making me shiver.

"Why is it so cold in here?" I asked, as I rubbed my hands together for warmth.

"Because." He said, in a tone that made it seem obvious, "death has a certain aroma that overpowers even our strongest chemicals."

"So?" I couldn't stop my teeth from chattering.

"So, we have to keep it below temperature so the bodies don't rot, does that suffice your curiosity?"

I gave him an annoyed look, to which he rolled his eyes in reply.  The guy had attitude, I'd give him that. Unfortunately for him, so do I, which will make it ten times harder to work with him, since I know he's capable of murder -most likely, anyway, he stabbed a man- and I don't want to get stabbed anytime soon. 

He led me out of the room, and into another. It was quite lovely, flowers were hanging from the walls, bouquets surrounded every inch of empty space in the room. "Here in Parity Cemetery, we have a peculiar code system. It's quite an art if you truly think of it as one." Was he praising himself? "Each bundle of flowers has a specific color coordination that matches along with it's owner, the carcass in the grave."

"That's a strange code."

He nodded, "Strange, but precise. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"How do you know which color belongs to which grave?"

"I analyze the face of each body before we bury it, from their bone structure, to skin tone, I match the colors of what seems to compliment them most. It's an important step along with each funeral."

"Why can't the family members choose which color of flower they want?" I questioned, as I leaned down to smell a red rose. 

"Because." He said with a heavy sigh, "Last I checked this was my cemetery, and in that case, I get to pick every color of decor for every body in this deathly atmosphere, are you always going to be so questioning?" He suddenly seemed to have a tone that suited a five year old. 

What a child.

"You wanted me to work here." I gave a sarcastic smile, "So, yeah, of course I am. Besides-" I ran my finger down the stem of one of the flowers, "You did stab a man, after all."

His gaze shifted from me, to the wall, "That was just an inconvenience. You shouldn't be running your mouth inside these walls, Miss Adler. Do remember who is doing the blackmailing."

"I knew you were low, but blackmail, that's just wrong."

"It's was necessary."

"Was it?"

He grinned, "I got you, didn't I?"

I rolled my eyes, and crossed my arms over my chest. This guy was seriously playing me hard. He has such a strange personality on top of it all. It makes no sense why he'd want me here with him, ever. 

We both left the room, and he began showing me around the other rooms, which were full of more decorations for the dead. Ribbons, gardening tools, boxes, and boxes of tiny crystals, and not to mention the jars of gold dust. That's right, they sprinkle gold dust on higher paying customers.

Being in this building, seeing these rooms, it all felt so wrong. Like I wasn't supposed to be here at all. I could hardly afford a dinner for myself, let alone a grave covered in gold dust and diamonds.