Dreams of My Past (COMPLETED)

Chapter - 56 Farewell, Papa

Alejandro's funeral day. 

But fate saw fit to take Papa, for a reason that should take no man or beast in this day and age.

First, it was the shock- denial, anger, and despair...the tears flow unchecked down her cheeks and dripped from her chin. At first, she thought grief was something bad that takes you ten feet under but soon she learned that it was just the price we have to pay for loving someone.

As I took a pew near the front, the long-held back tears began to flow. I was not ashamed. I loved him. Now that he was gone a light had been extinguished forever in my heart. I sat in my silent grief and awaited the start of the funeral service. She was too sad to cry out or wail, she just sat there as still as a statue while the magnitude of her loss swept over her.

I held my mum's shaky hand the whole time. She wiped her tears with her handkerchiefs. We are all wearing dark sunglasses, to avoid seeing our eyes from people who are attending the funeral. She rested her head over my shoulders and I held her tight.

I saw his picture beside his casket and his face seemed so alive and happy. I couldn't help but wonder what he looked like inside the coffin under that closed wooden casket.

Alesandra, stared at it blankly hoping that a miracle would happen and that Alejandro would rise again and come back to them, to the world, but nothing happened. He was all gone.

The coffin was a dark stained cherry and it was perfectly polished. It had a cushioned and silky white lining inside. It seemed perfectly good for my Papa and it's good to know that he was resting in a comfortable place.

We stood at the front of the funeral. Everyone's heads were down. Maybe it was them showing respect or maybe they were too afraid to look at what was coming. The coffin was pulled up by a special Mercedes Benz for Papa's casket pulled from the hearse of six strong men, including Nikolai. He is paying respect for my Papa and also his brother, Pietro.

The coffin gleamed in the early morning light that streamed through the cathedral windows. It was expertly crafted to bring comfort to the departed but also to soothe the living relatives of the departed ones. It was built with love to be the final resting place of one who had been so adored in their lifetime. It's faux-gold handles and polished sheen helped to reduce their trauma to wracking waves that were at least more manageable. The gold handles gleamed in the sunlight as the pallbearers loaded it into a carriage fit for a king.

The funeral service was slower than what Alesandra expected, taking just as many detours. She walks up to the makeshift stage and begins her little speech. She kept it together until it was time for her Papa's necrology.

Everyone had a memory to share. Everyone speaks about what Papa did to them. Helping everyone and most especially when Diego, also speaks about him. And that's when all the memories came flooding back like a tidal wave. 

Tears escape my eyes, running away upon my cheeks, leaving my body as if they cannot bear to witness yet another heartache. The magnitude of despair in her eyes must be enormous that Catalina hugs her tight and stayed with her. No one speaks but silence is enough to know her pain.

The casket started to descend on the ground. Ten feet under with a melody in the background being played while everyone silently witnessing the burial of once-great person, Alejandro Renaulthè.

When suddenly Alesandra can no longer bear it. She screams. "Stop!!!" The people who weren't already crying allowed tears to drip down their faces. "Stop it!" She screams, tears streaming down her face.

It was more than crying; it was the kind of desolate sobbing that comes from a person drained of all hope. She sank to her knees at the grave, not caring for the mud that dirtied her dress. Her tears mingled with her gasping wails echoed around the gravestones. The pain that flowed from her was as palpable as the frigid fall wind and soon Nikolai was at her side, struggling to keep his tears silently also, looking up to the skies and heaven beyond. Comforting her and trying to console her sobbing. Diego came also to her side. When the words would not come, the tears did. She cried until there was nothing left inside but a raw emptiness that nibbles at her insides.