Lost Stars

xxi. universal

They drove in silence for a few minutes before they arrived at Jack's memorial. Thinking about it now, Helen must have had the longest time to arrange and plan all of it. It wasn't a comforting thought for a mother that her only child is on the verge of dying, but even your own mind can betray you in painful ways. It was clear that she hated the fact that all of this came together so quickly, but she must have been so drained of her tears that all she could do was to wear a melancholic expression as everyone approached her and Hugh and whispered apologies and condolences.

The entire thing was contained within an air conditioned room structured and formed with walls that had patterns embedded into it as it shimmered with the light as the air was flooded with multiple floral scents clashing together in the air. There were snacks that were laid out on a table at the side, as well as a few drinks to satisfy anyone who may have been thirsty. And lastly was Jack's body as it was given the spot at the front center of the room.

Elle walked towards it slowly, not knowing if whether or not she was prepared to see him and come to terms with all the tragedies that came crashing down on her all at once. The entire coffin was white except for the occasional streams of gold at the side to adorn it and made it look celebrated rather than mourned. But miraculously, she managed to gather enough courage and strength to assure herself that tears would not drown her this time before she cast her glance downwards and let out a pained whimper that was muffled by her hand.

Jack's body was covered by a fancy suit that gave him the appearance of merely drifting away in slumber had it not been for the cold temperature that engulfed his body as well as the discolorations of death. His hands were properly laid down to settle upon one another on his stomach. His eyes were peacefully shut, but that would have been deemed as an act of giving up had Jack actually been here to see it. "Elle, let's go sit down." She felt her mother's bony hands settle on her shoulder before she was lead away from the coffin and was sat down at the front row as she looked blankly at the podium.

After a few minutes of chatting with one another, everyone finally settled down and found their own seats before Helen ascended onto the podium. The first thing that left her lips was dedicated to thanking everyone for coming to this at such short notice.

Elle didn't know when it started, but she found herself not listening to anything that followed out of her lips. She didn't know whether it was because she couldn't bear to hear any more words in the name of Jack's departure, or because she was still recovering from the overwhelming emotions that bombarded her for these last few days, but her thoughts were disrupted when she heard Helen call her name. "Would you like to say anything in Jack's memory?"

Her body froze on her chair, and refusal was on the brink of escaping her lips but then she saw Helen pleading with her eyes. It seemed that that was all she needed to get a hold of herself entirely, not just for this day but all the rest that she had wasted isolating herself rather than trying to recover, was that she knew that Jack would have wanted her to go on with her life and that he would appreciate hearing her honesty deep through, even when death hindered him from listening.

Elle nervously stepped onto the stool behind the podium. Her fingers latched onto the corners as her eyes scanned the entire room and only now did she notice the big number of people that actually showed up. She looked at each one of them briefly before going on with the others, and the words seemed to just flow out of her mouth.

"Jack Kingston was a person who was crushed by the truth too early, which robbed him of his chance at a life of ignorance that, in a world like this, is often mistaken for happiness. He looked at everything with such a resentment because he knew that he would never be given the opportunity to enjoy it long enough to matter. He destroyed anything that could make him regret his acceptance, but I was the lucky one that he let in." She paused and glanced around, and her gaze landed on Helen as she clutched her napkin.