Inheritance: Scales of Change

Chapter Thirteen - Getting Through

    Your father and you played host to a slew of strangers over the last few days who wanted to come pay their respects to your mother. Everyone on the island knew her as the woman who cured the plague, and many of them owed their lives to her. The Doctor had returned later in the day of her passing, with the cloves in tow. After processing them and trying different combinations, he did in fact find a cure for the internal infection, two days too late. You were angry when he discovered it, angry at him for taking so long to get back, angry at Cornelius for taking so long to send you the information, angry at your mother for not waiting a few more days. Though none of these things could be helped, you didn't have the capacity for rational thought at the moment.
    You spent your days crying while your father seemed to be in a constant state of stupor. Neither of you could believe that you lost her as quickly as you gained her back. At times you thought it would have been better if you never found her at all, but then, other times that thought saddened you deeply. Caspian and Raxe became invaluable to you and your father. You were sure you would have followed your mother into Aslan's Country without them, and part of you wanted to despite their exhaustive efforts.
    In traditional fashion for the Lone Islands, her body was to be burned in a pyre built on a boat, then sent off to sea where Aslan would guide her to the edge of the world. There was some debate as to whether her body should be brought back to the Lone Islands, but you and your father ultimately agreed that there were more people who knew her here now than at home. It would offer the islanders a way to say goodbye as well.
    The morning of the ceremony was overcast and sprinkling, as if the world itself knew the sun had been extinguished from your lives. Caspian, Raxe and your father built the pyre, while you prepared your mother's body, as was tradition for the second eldest woman in the family. Sis would have been a second pair of hands at home, but you wouldn't want her to experience any of this. So you worked in the house alone.
    You stepped out when she was ready, and the men went inside to lift her onto the stretcher. You followed them in procession down to the beachside, where her boat sat on the edge of the water. They gently placed her in, crossed her hands neatly at her waist, and stood back. Caspian stood by your side and took your hand unashamedly in front of everyone, not that anyone was paying attention. Raxe stood at your other side, shoulder pressed to yours. Your father took a deep breath and began speaking.
    "Thank you all for coming to celebrate the life of my wife, Helnea. It is heartwarming to see how many lives she touched in her short time here. She did not live a fair life, but it was a full one nonetheless. I wish I could have had more time with you, My Love, twenty years of marriage was not enough." He started to choke up, and took a moment to compose himself and clear his throat, then continued. "There is no doubt that her love continues on in the hearts of all of us, every life she saved, every family she held together, we owe it all to her. She will be deeply missed, but never forgotten." He paused, and the only sound was the odd sniffle from the crowd, and a roll of thunder over the sea in the distance.  "If anyone has anything they want to share, I invite them to please step forward."
    Several people came up to speak about your mother. You tried very hard to remember each story, each person she gave her life to help, each small example of her selflessness, but there were too many. The rain began to fall, and everyone decided it was best to move forward with the lighting of the fire before the storm hit. You and your father asked Raxe to join you with the lighting as he was like a son to her, and he broke down when you did. Through the tears and rain, you each placed your lit torches at the base of her pyre, and it caught. The flames grew quickly, and your father, Raxe, and Caspian pushed her boat out into the sea. The waves took her, gently rocking her boat back and forth, further and further out, until all you could see was a speck of orange light in the distance where her body burned.

    You stood on the shoreline, until even after the glow of the fire was no longer visible, you stayed while the rain drops grew in size, falling and drenching you to the bone. You kept your vigil while the waves raged angrily in the storm and crashed violently against the rocks nearby, threatening to take them into the depths. And the whole time, Caspian stood at your side, your hand in his, never once suggesting you leave.