Chapter 35 - 34: Fragments of the Lost
Rain hammered the cemetery like bullets against stone. Elise stood frozen beneath a black umbrella, water streaming down its edges in silver rivulets. The priest’s voice cut through the downpour, each word heavy as the dirt that would soon cover the casket.
"Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. May her soul find peace, even if those she left behind might not."
The wooden box descended into hungry earth. Elise’s father’s arm wrapped around her shoulders, solid and warm and impossible. Her brother stood to her right, rain dripping from his dark hair onto his borrowed suit jacket.
She wore the same clothes from that terrible day three years ago. Black blouse that scratched her neck. Pinched shoes that made her toes ache. Fingers that wouldn’t stop shivering despite her father’s coat draped over her shoulders.
The faces around the grave blurred together in the rain. Mrs. Henderson from down the street, clutching a tissue. Uncle Marcus who smelled like cigarettes and regret. Her mother’s sister who’d driven six hours to be here.
But other faces didn’t belong. A woman with silver hair who smiled too kindly. A man in an expensive suit who watched Elise instead of the coffin. People she was certain had never existed in her real memories.
The wrongness settled into her stomach like ice water.
"We’ll be okay, Elise." Her father’s voice rumbled through his chest against her ear. "The family’s whole again."
She wanted to believe him. God, how she wanted to sink into that warmth and never leave. Her brother stepped closer, rain-dark eyes meeting hers.
"You don’t have to go back, El. Stay here. We’re safe now."
The ache in her chest threatened to split her open. Three years of loneliness. Three years of empty apartments and silent dinners. Three years of carrying grief that weighed more than her bones could support.