Open Your Eyes to Reality (Chapter 1)

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today…” I stood still and silent, hearing half of what the man dressed in black was saying. I stood still and silent, waiting. The coffin lying on a bed of flowers appeared a dark, polished brown. Rain clouds started to form and the man standing before the crowd of people, all dressed in black as well, looked up to the sky. He shivered, grabbing at his pant legs with sweaty palms. He reached up to wipe the sweat from his brow and adjust his glasses on his plump, red nose. He reminded me of Santa Claus without the matching suit and white beard. No one looked up when he struggled to spit out her name. Everyone stared at the ground; they were the black sea the way they stood, huddled together.

“…Agnes Taylor” he glanced at the body of a woman in the coffin with feelings of empathy. Rain drops fell from the dark clouds above us. No one moved although everyone wanted to hightail it back to their cars and drive home, hoping to forget the way she lay dead in her coffin. Maybe a few might cry as they pulled into their driveways, the same way I did when I was told the news.

I sat there waiting. I hadn’t the slightest idea what I waited for, but I sensed it in my bones that something was going to happen. I felt it as the rain drops rolled from my jacket to my black dress shoes and my heart started racing. It was happening. I clenched my fists and bit my tongue, my head started pounding, and drops of sweat started to form along my hairline. In my head, streams of curses and prayers spewed out the way a broken water faucet did. On the outside, I sat there with no emotion.

The waves of the black sea began to shift as people got more and more anxious. The looks on their faces spoke the truth. Help me. Get me out of here, they thought. Someone blew their nose, another sniffled. From somewhere towards the front, a small child wept. No one noticed when I fell to my knees, holding my head in my hands, crying for the pain to stop. I looked to the heavens and let out a blood curdling scream. Then, a hand popped out, grabbed the sides, and the woman propped herself up in the coffin. She stretched her long arms, tilting her head back, rain falling on her pale, wrinkly skin. Her eyes opened to show a lovely turquoise. Her gray hair blended into the stormy sky. One by one, the eyes of the black sea looked up to sneak a peek. Just as rapidly, they stood frozen by the splendor of the woman as she stepped out of the coffin and started to walk.

The woman bent beside the coffin and picked up a flower, gently placing it in her hair.

“Derrick…” She called out.

As everyone backed away as she spoke, I ran towards her, “Mom!”

She repeated my name, “Derrick…” I felt a hand grab my shoulder, and I spun around to see who was touching me, but I could see no one; it was just me and my mother, running in slow-motion towards each other. My eye sight narrowed around the edges, making me able to focus solely on what stood directly in front of me. A man called my name from somewhere unknown.

“Derrick,” He shouted, and the unseen hand grabbing my shoulder started to shake me around.

“Derrick!” I opened my eyes, and came back to earth. My mother was lying in the coffin and everyone stared at me as if I had gone mad. I turned to the man next to me who happened to be my father. He opened his mouth a tad and whispered to me, “Go on up and speak now, boy.” Anger lay within his deep voice. With weak legs, I stood from my chair and walked to the front of the crowd. I looked at my mother before taking my place at the podium; she was gorgeous.