ArcAngelStories98
patreon
Jess and Blinx: The Wizard- Part 6
🕑 Added 2022-10-24 23:53:38 +0000 UTCAren’t funerals supposed to be on dreary, rainy days, when everyone has to have umbrellas or get soaked by the rain? John’s funeral wasn’t like that at all. A normal funeral would have a crowd of people, all wearing black, some crying, with people saying what a good person he was until a priest leads a final goodbye sermon; John’s didn’t. John’s funeral had clear skies, a cool breeze, and only six attendants, one of which was the priest. The total guest list was my dad and I, John’s social worker, Margret, one of John’s friends, and Mr. Walter, the man who told me John had died. There were plenty of tears though, but almost all of them were from Margret and I. Don’t get me wrong, everyone was sad, but only she and I really knew John. He didn’t have any money saved, he hadn’t had steady employment in about ten years due to the back injury that cost him his home so long ago. Whenever he did work, it was odd jobs that usually only lasted a day or two. Dad and I scraped together what we could for the funeral, enough for a halfway decent casket and a headstone. The priest was a friend of Mr. Walter, and was donating his time.
I don’t remember much of what was said during the priest’s sermon, or really anything before it either. Most of that day was a blur; I felt like I was just drifting through it, as if my body was moving on its own. I think I had a conversation with some of the other guests, I can’t remember what about. The next time I remember anything clearly, I was already back home somehow, and was laying on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I felt numb, my eyes itched, and I was very tired. I sat there, I don’t know how long for, thinking about everything that had happened. Two days ago, when Mr. Walker told me John had died, I didn’t believe it. I understood what he was saying, and I knew he was telling the truth, but inside… I didn’t really believe him; I didn’t want to. I went home, called Dad, and eventually went to bed. I remember crying, I remember being so angry at myself for not being there with him, for not checking on him sooner, for letting him die alone.
There was a noise, the door creaked open. “Jessie?” Dad asked; I went to his house after the funeral. None of the trains dropped off close to my house, and I just didn’t feel like going home yet. “Do you need anything? You haven’t eaten today.”
“I don’t need anything, Dad. I’m just…” I sighed, still staring at the ceiling. “I’m just not hungry.”
“How are you feeling?” He asked, sitting on the bed beside me. I looked over at him.
“I’m tired.”
“You can sleep here tonight, if you want.”
I rolled my head to the side and leaned it against his leg. “Thank you.” My fur bunched up into my eyes, making me close them. He put a hand on my head like he did when I was a kid, and like he did after Mom died, and started rubbing my fur.
“I’m going to make some food, you should eat something, okay?” He said.
“Okay.” Dad started to stand up. “Dad, can you stay here for a moment?”
He sat back down and started rubbing my head again. “Sure, Jessie.”
I think I fell asleep, because the next time I opened my eyes, Dad was gone, and it was dark outside. I stretched and got out of bed, the fog was finally starting to clear out of my head. I left the room and went to the kitchen. There was a plate of grilled-cheese sandwiches on the counter, under a bit of tin-foil, and Dad was asleep on the couch. The TV was still on, he was watching some romance movie. I picked up the sandwiches and pulled my magic stone out of my pocket. All these years, and I still carried it around with me. Sure, I had a nice magic staff now, but I still wanted to keep the stone with me too; like a good luck charm. I quietly went upstairs and cast a fire spell to heat the sandwiches up, being careful not to make noise and wake Dad up. While eating, I pulled out my phone and checked my work emails. It was nine o’clock at night, but I wasn’t tired because of my nap. After eating, I was feeling better, and decided to go home. I knew Dad would be worried if I was just gone when he woke up, so I decided to wake him up and tell him. I walked down-stairs and over to him, giving him a light shake.
“Hmmhm?!” He grunted, waking up. “Jessie?”
“Hey.” I said.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling better. Thank you for the sandwiches.”
“Oh, you’re welcome baby.”
“I’m going home, okay.” I told him.
He inhaled and stretched his arms out. “Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.”
“I love you too.” I said and hugged him. With that, I walked to the train station, and went home.
I spent the rest of the night catching up on paperwork that I had missed over the last few days. It was two in the morning before I finally went to bed. That night, I had a dream, it was about my mom. It wasn’t anything special. We were at lunch, and talking about what we had done that day. In the dream, she told me that she had spent the whole day walking along the beach, trying to find a seashell that sounded more like a lake than an ocean, but had no luck. We laughed, as we talked, hopping from one topic to another. It wasn’t a special dream, but it was a happy one. The thing was, I knew it was a dream the whole time, I just didn’t care; I wanted to talk to her anyway.
“You seem sad, Jessie. Is something wrong?” Mom asked.
I sighed, “My friend John died.”
“John… that nice man you told me about last time?” She asked.
“Yeah. He had a heart attack.”
“I’m so sorry Jessie. How are you handling it?”
“Not well, I really miss him.” I said. Mom took my paw in hers, pulled me close, and gave me a hug. “I miss you too.”
“I know jessie… I know. Are you going to be okay?”
“I think so. Dad’s been helping me.”
“My death was hard on both of you, but you were so young, and he was broken for so long after. I’m so sorry that you are going through it again.” Mom let go of the hug and leaned back. “I want you to tell me something. If you feel like you need to take a moment and cry, or process, or even just breathe, to deal with this, that you will.” I nodded my head. She placed a paw on my cheek and kissed my forehead.
My eyes opened as the sun shined through the cracks in my blinds, and straight into my eyes. I looked over at the clock; ten minutes until I had to get ready for work. I laid my head back down, closed my eyes, and took a moment to breathe.
