The Bucket List

Chapter 7

I could see my dad's eyes were red from crying, and my mum's were almost dead. My dad gave me a sad smile when he noticed me, and I went over to him and hugged him tight. I needed to be strong for them today. They needed me.

The next 20 minutes passed by with greeting and getting condolences from all the people who showed up to her funeral. It was a mix between friends from school, from her first job, from the hospital, family from all over, even Minta from next door came and cried when she hugged my mum.

I had sent Julie inside the church a few minutes back, and was about to join her when I saw a familiar face in the crowd, and my breath caught in my throat.

I quickly made my way over to him, as soon as I was sure it was actually him. When he saw me he stretched his arms out and pulled me into a tight embrace. His warmth and comfort made tears swell up in my eyes, and I had to blink a couple of times to hold them back.

"Austin what are you doing here?" I asked as I pulled back a bit to look up at him.

"My mum called and told me. I got off from work and came here as fast as I could." He said looking at me with sad eyes.

"Thanks for not saying I'm sorry. I don't think I can handle any more of those today." I gave him a sad smile looking down. "Come on, lets go inside" I took a deep breath before I linked my arm through his. As we stepped inside I looked around the church, looking anywhere but where I knew the coffin with her would be. I don't think I had ever seen so many flowers at one place before. It was like multiple flower shops had been put in here. It was beautiful, and most importantly, Amy would have absolutely loved it.

Both Julie and my mum looked at me funny as I joined them on the front row with Austin. I sat down beside my mum, and she grabbed my hand tight in hers. Austin put his left arm around me and pulled me to his side. His familiar smell and warm embrace made me able to breath a bit better.

As the priest came out, I looked over at Julie who gave me a reassuring smile. I could do this, I just had to hold the tears in a little bit longer. Kaylee, Julie's sister, who was sitting behind me, saw this exchange and handed me some tissues. That girl never missed anything.

The priest had barely said three words, before tears started to silently run down my cheek. My mum gave my hand a big squeeze before she let go and Austin pulled me completely into his embrace, letting me cry as I listened to the priests praising words about my sister. Telling everyone how strong she was, and how she always managed to smile. I guess that was true. She always smiled in front of people. But I saw her behind closed doors as well. I saw how sad she was, how afraid she was in the end, even though she tried to hide it.

He talked about her kind heart, how she never gave up or lost hope. How she would always brighten up a room, and how she simply just was an amazing girl who was taken from us too early.

When the priest finished his speech I knew that what little mascara I had put on this morning was gone now. I gave Austin one last squeeze before I got up. It was time to carry her out.

I grabbed a handle and bit my lip to try and stop crying. Down in that coffin was the now body who used to be my angel.  I took a deep breath. Nodding to my father who was waiting for me to give a sign that I was ready and we lifted the coffin up with the others.

We carried her out to the car that was waiting to take her to get cremated. After that some people left while others drove over to a place where we would get some coffee.

I had thanked and said goodbye to almost everyone when my eyes caught sight of someone and my mouth fell open. I excused myself and walked over to him, not believing my own eyes. "Jayden. What are you doing here?" I asked my voice full of disbelieve.