Sean's Story V – The Funeral I
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"May her soul and the souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace." With the final words of the priest the coffin was buried and Tara Smith's burial ceremony concluded. Evan put an arm around my shoulder and hugged me tightly. Emily and her mother were inconsolable as they wept bitterly now; having remained subdued throughout the ceremony. A number of people from town had gathered to attend the funeral. The Mayor Mr. Rochester, the sheriff Cassandra Bronte, the eminent news reporter George Keats, the wealthy estate dealer Arthur Oakwood had graced the occasion. The presence of the most important people in town was strange considering the Smiths had no close contacts with any of them. I turned to look at our friends who stood watching the proceedings. There were others, the acquaintances of the Smiths.
Gradually, the party began to break as people started heading towards the Smith residence. Evan excused himself and told me he would meet me later. As we walked to the residence, Rebecca spoke.
"That was a tragic thing to happen. The Smiths are shattered."
"They say it was an animal attack. When did this town have animals? I hope the Halloween party isn't pulled off." Tyler Rochester rambled.
"Yeah! My costume's all set for the ball. I won't stand the cancellation." Rachael Bronte agreed with a whiff of her blonde hair.
"Stop it, guys! You're at a funeral. Have some sense." I broke in irritated.
"Hold your horses, Sean. Why are you getting bugged? We were just telling facts." Rachael snapped.
"Forget it." I snubbed her and walked away from the group. Tyler and Rachael were good friends but acted dorks at times. That was so insensitive. I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned to see Rebecca and Stephan.
"What's up Sean? You look off today." Rebecca asked me while Stephan cast me a questioning glance. Their faces showed genuine concern and affection. I sighed debating whether to share my feelings with them or not. I had doubts regarding Evan. But the chance of them being completely baseless both relaxed and unnerved me.
"Is it about Evan? Stephan tried to guess. My silence answered in the affirmative.
"You can share with us, man. We have been friends for years. Maybe we could help." He put a hand on my shoulders while Rebecca nodded in agreement.
I sighed and began voicing my concerns. "I may be wrong guys but I feel Evan is hiding something from me. Ever since the Tara case has come up he appears to be unnerved. He said it was because of a sister returning on the same night but I could sense otherwise."
Both my friends listened intently. Taking in what I had said, Rebecca spoke after a while.
"I feel whatever Evan said seems right. You are just worrying too much. Perhaps, because of the misery of last year you're seeing too much into things. You should relax, Sean. Give Evan his space and your faith."
Stephan nodded in agreement. I thought over what she had said. Perhaps, she was right. I was over-reacting. After all the reason he gave me was sensible. I smiled at my friends when Evan walked in.
"Hey honey. Hi guys. Something wrong?" He looked at me in Stephan's embrace and questioned.
Stephan quickly covered up. "Why? You jealous that your boyfriend is in my arms?" Rebecca and I smiled.
Evan gave a sly smile. "Very jealous! No one touches my boyfriend." He took me by the arm and pulled me into a bear hug. I snuggled into him as I felt guilty of doubting him.
"Should we get some drinks?" Rebecca suggested. Stephan joined her while Evan and I decided to leave. As we reached the exit Evan walked into an old man.
The man gave him a long searching odd look. "I know you. I've seen you before."
Evan politely smiled. "No, sir. I think you are mistaken. I haven't met you before. I just came to town a couple of weeks ago."
"No. I remember seeing you around thirty years ago. The same face, the same voice, no you are...." At this juncture a young lady walked in.
"Granddad, we've been looking all over the place. Why do you keep walking away?" She turned to us. "I'm sorry if he has disturbed you. Granddad is sick. We have to take him to the psychiatrist every week." With this she took the old man away who kept on staring at Evan.
Throughout the encounter I stood shocked with my mouth open. Evan turned to me and smiled. "Poor man. His nerves are really messed up. Thirty years ago! Jeez! I wasn't even born. Sean? Sean!"
