Finding the Unknown

Chapter 1- How It All Started

Chapter 1

How It All Started

My Uncle’s funeral was a sad, depressing day. But weren’t all funerals? It wasn’t the day itself that was depressing; it was what took place that would make it that way. Unlike your average book’s fake, fictional day of a funeral, it was actually a sunny day. It was spring. Flowers were beginning to bloom; insects were crawling out from wherever they came from: it was normal. It should have been happy, but it wasn’t. Not for me, anyways.

What made this day so different, I’m sure you’d like to know. Surely a funeral couldn’t change everything! But that’s where you’re wrong. It can and it did change everything.

Walking on the perfectly manicured lawn of the mansion that used to belong to Uncle Aaron was hard. It really was. Sorrow surrounded my steps like a flowerbed of trampled roses.

The yard was decorated beautifully with black and red. Up ahead of me were probably hundreds of chairs, enough to fit all of my Uncle Aaron’s family and friends. In front of all those chairs stood the attorney, who would read my Uncle’s will today. I didn’t know why Uncle Aaron wanted his will read that day, but it didn’t matter. We’d do whatever he wanted for his funeral, all of us; his family and even his greedy, no good friends.

I sat down on a chair in the middle of the crowded seating area. To my right side was my Uncle’s friend, Walter. It was a surprise he was quiet. Normally he’d be yapping about his money.

To my left was a woman I recognized as a friend of Uncle Aaron. I didn’t know her name though.

“Attention!” The attorney called out to the crowd of people. I turned my attention to him. “The service is starting now. Please take your seats.” Everyone obeyed, sitting down quietly with a scrape of a chair here and there. Looking around, it was easy for me to tell who family was and who Uncle Aaron’s friends were. The people with tissues were family, the other people were friends. 

“Today we remember a great man, Aaron Cyr!” The attorney said into a microphone. My finger twitched. He pronounced his last name wrong! It’s ‘sear’ like a ‘searing pan!’ Not kur! “One who did great, great things. Now, unlike traditional funerals, we will read the will before holding the funeral.”

Murmuring broke out through the crowd, someone even have the audacity to laugh. The attorney held up his hand, shushing the crowd. “The basics of his will are actually very simple, as you’ll see soon. But complicated, they are. You’ll have a choice to make soon, so be prepared.” The attorney paused, looking around at the crowd. “Aaron Cyr’s will is for as many people as would like to go, to participate in a hunt for twenty-five million dollars.”

Audible gasps were heard, and I just about passed out. What? Murmuring broke out through the crowd yet again, some whistles to be heard from other people. I glanced at Walter to see him practically drooling at the amount of money. Anger boiled up inside of me, and I tried to push it down but it was very tempting to punch him. This was my Uncle’s funeral, not a free give away! My nails dug into my jeans as I tried to calm down, but when someone shouted, “Looks like his death was worth it!” I completely lost it.

I got up and turned to face the crowd, giving them my nastiest death glare. “WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?” I screamed. “My Uncle is dead! Do you people have no shame? SHUT UP!”

There was a dead silence where no one moved, everyone looking at me like I was a crazy serial killer. I could feel tears falling down my face and that was when I wished that I hadn’t said anything. I left my seating area and ran down the walkway, the summer heat killing me. Some of my family members got up and tried to stop me, but I just brushed them off. I didn’t want to talk to any of them, and I hated that they saw me so weak.