Deadly Deceased

Richard was watching everyone dressed in dark black suits walking along with their respective spouses who were also wearing black pants/skirts and blouses. The entire hall was filling up very quickly but everyone was very quiet once they entered the hall. The children and grand children of the deceased were all assembled in the front row sitting right next to the spouse of the deceased. After the Holy Father read a few sermons out of the Holy Bible, he invited the family members to speak about the deceased. Richard sharpened his ears to listen to the words of those who were about to speak.


First the eldest son of the deceased took the podium. He began his brief speech as follows: “I thank every one of you for taking the time to be here with us when our family is going through difficult time. My father was a great teacher and all his teachings were by his actions more than his words. He learned to live a very simple life without opting for any luxury. He put his family first before himself and when someone requested for help from him, he always did whatever he could do to help that person. He laid down a strong foundation for us to lead an ideal and purposeful life.” On hearing his words, his mother started crying profusely thinking about her husband. There were no dry eyes listening to that speech inside the hall. Richard was also moved by the speech but he kept his focus on watching the reactions of all the visitors.


The next the youngest daughter of the diseased came to speak about her father. She said, “My father showered unconditional love on every one of us. He only spoke the words about people in their absence what he would have spoken in their presence and he always spent his extra time wisely for learning something new or for helping others. He compromised anything to make his family happy but did not compromise his family for anything.” She was in tears when she concluded her remarks and her mother started crying as well.



Richard was again watching the reactions of everyone assembled in the hall. Finally, a grandchild of the deceased insisted that she wanted to speak. She was only 6 years old and everyone was curious what she was going to tell. She walked up to the podium and adjusted the microphone to her height and started to speak. “My grandfather was my best friend and he always encouraged me to ask any question I had in my mind. Just a day before he passed away, I asked him whether it was possible for him to be with me always to answer all my questions. He responded that he would do his best to be with me if the time permitted. I want to find out why he is lying down in a box when so many people have assembled here to meet with him?” After she finished her speech, she walked up to her grandfather’s body and placed a note asking that question in writing. Everyone was touched by her gesture and so was Richard.


Richard felt very happy after hearing his family members that his life was meaningful. He whispered in his granddaughter’s ears that his time was over and left the hall peacefully.

 

Thank you for your feedback.

Viswa

 

Pallavi,

Too bad I gave away the suspense through my words. Anyway, thank you for your encouraging fb as always.

Viswa