A Story - Part II

For Part I of this story, CLICK HERE

The word of the captain's death came as a sad surprise to most. One person, however, did not have a full blown moment of shock. His mother felt it. As many people who love deeply, she knew something was wrong before the local authorities darkened her doorsteps. She felt him, felt his presence, and she could pinpoint the exact moment that she sensed a void in the atmosphere of her heart.

She sat with her hands folded neatly in her lap, awaiting the impending news from the officer. As she watched his lips move, she listened with her heart - even as it simultaneously broke into a thousand little pieces.

Alone...alone...she was now all alone...

Her husband had left her long ago, and she had put her every waking moment thereafter providing, caring for, and loving her only son. He had made her so proud. What a successful man he had become, only to have his life wasted by a random accident at sea.

As she led the officer to the door, bid him goodnight, and closed the door, her thoughts turned to his funeral service. Who should come? Her mind flipped through the images of people they knew and the woman wondered who might even think it necessary to attend. They had lived a secluded life. Her efforts had been spent on raising her son. Fellowshipping with acquaintances and friends had no place in her life. His efforts each day culminated with the smile he saw on his mother's face at the beauty of his life and the success he worked hard to achieve. His mother needed fulfillment from no other.

So, she planned a small funeral. Beautiful flowers were chosen and a casket designed, all to hold her most precious possesion...the body of her beloved son.

The funeral was held in a small chapel near the sea. The church windows, plantation-like shutters comprised of old slatboard, parted horizontally, letting in the breeze. The doors were left open and the smells and the sounds of the market wafted in lingering in the air. The minister spoke softly, the waves roared in the distance, and tears fell silently onto the old woman's lap.

She wanted this moment, this farewell to last a long time so that she could revel in the memory of her son and not be chided for it as she assumed would be the case sometime in the days to come. The grief stricken woman planned two musical interludes into the program, just organ, that would give her the time and lengthen the inevitable. During the second interlude, she turned to look over her shoulder and see who had thought her son's life worthy of their presence to say goodbye.

She hadn't really invited anyone. Lost in her own grief, she called the necessary parties and decided to let the rumor mill work on its own. In attendance were only a few people who had known the mother and her son a very long time - people who'd known the captain as a small boy and watched him grow. Behind her to the right sat a favorite teacher, a close school friend, and the pastor who'd baptized him. They comprised about half of the total in attendance.

Over her left shoulder sat a couple of other acquaintances, but they went unnoticed. The only thing she could see was the black woman, head bowed, sitting sullenly on the back pew.

More coming soon...

Read Part III