Welcome to the club!
Here's the first part of the story I'm writing. Tell me what you think, okay?
The casket lowered into the grave, and Lynn choked back a sob. A mist hung around the almost deserted cemetery in a low cloud, chilling the funeral attendees to the bone. Headstones loomed out of the mist, and gnarled trees took on the shape of men, their knotty limbs reaching out at the people gathered around the grave like clawed hands yearning to break free and rend at their faces and arms. The October sky was hard and cold, the silver clouds covering the face of the sun and denying warmth from reaching the cold ground below. Lynn’s voice was full of tears and she recited with the rest of the congregation.
“Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.”
Tears slid down her face, as sat on her cheeks, glistening in the insubstantial light like diamonds. She felt Adrien put his arms around her, kissing the top her head, ignoring the tears on his own face. The group of people thinned, and the grave was filled with dirt. This more than anything gave finality to the things that had happened in the last few days. In her heart, she had been hoping that it would just be a joke, or a bad dream. But as the grave was filled in, the shock of Mabel’s passing really fell on Lynn for the first time. She turned and cried into Adrien’s shoulder. He put his arms around Lynn, attempting comforting words.
“Shhh. Lynn, it’s alright. It’ll be alright.” he said, stroking her long auburn hair.
“Why did she do it Adrien? Why on earth did she do it?” sobbed Lynn. All she could think of was the phone call that she and Adrien had received two days earlier. The words of Mabel’s mother, so full of tears and sorrow, still rang in her ears.
“Lynn? I have some bad news.” said Mrs. Thompson. Her voice was quavering and hoarse, as though she had been crying recently, and was in danger of doing so again.
“Oh, hi Mrs. Thompson. What’s wrong?” asked Lynn, a look of concern on her face.
“It’s Mabel.” the noise of a nose being blown reached Lynn’s ears. She heard Mrs. Thompson clear her throat. “She… she took her life.”
“What?” said Lynn, stunned. No, no it wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true.
“If you would come down here, I would appreciate it immensely. I know that you and Adrien were Mabel’s best friends. It would mean a lot to me and my husband.”
“Of-of course.” said Lynn, and she heard the phone click off on the other end. The phone slipped from her hands and fell to the floor with a thunk. The events after that were blurred. And though she had been extremely upset before now, it had only really sunk in as the casket lowered into the grave.
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