Seeing Red
A Speech and a Funeral
Carmen entered the giant church. There were about thirty rows of pews, with an altar in front of a giant stained glass window, depicting an image of Jesus Christ. She entered the church doubtfully, Ashley and Amanda standing on either side of her.
As she walked towards the open casket, the fear built up in her heart. She didn’t know what she would feel on seeing who was inside. It could be anger, or frustration, or guilt, or sadness. Ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach, she walked forward, and looked into the face of the man that had made her a true orphan by dying.
She didn’t feel angry, or frustrated. His face was calm, peaceful, and serene. When she saw his face, she didn’t think of death, but of an eternal, dreamless sleep, which was his reward for all he had done in life.
The tears started flowing out of her eyes, without her knowing about them. She felt it was strange to weep so much for a man she had never even known. Amanda and Ashley comforted her. She saw Mr. Danis looking at them from a distance with a look of pride in his eyes.
Slowly, people started filling the pews of the church. Carmen walked up to the altar, and started speaking.
“My grandfather was a great man. He was a great man that I never got to meet. And now I regret that every second, after I’ve lost the chance to meet him. After my parents died, he took better care of me than most people saddled with a teenage girl would. He sent me to the best school in the country, and assured that I had a good future. I know that there are people out there, that might feel happiness at my grandfather’s death, but they are few and far between, and they are wrong to feel joy. My grandfather’s death is not only my loss, or the loss of all the people here, but the world’s loss. We will try to replace him, and find we cannot fully succeed. We will try to go on as if nothing has changed, but we will find that things have changed, that cannot be brought back. We will try to forget, only to realize that my grandfather has left an impression in our minds that cannot be forgotten. But the sorrow will lessen, and when we think of him later on, we will remember not the sadness of his death, but the happy memories he brought us, and the magnitude of his achievements.”
Hot tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she wiped them off before going back to her seat. A few people were still looking at her, as she laid her head on Ashley’s shoulder.
Afterwards, at the cemetery, people came up to her, offering their condolences. Carmen thanked each person with humility. Amanda and Ashley never left her side. A man, about forty years old came up to her. He had an unshaven beard, brown hair, dry lips, and red eyes. Carmen could see it was not from crying but from alcohol. He walked straight up to her.
“That was quite a moving speech up there… Carmen was it? I’m your uncle, Charlie.”
Carmen took a step back, unable to stand the smell of whisky on the Charlie’s breath. She lied and said that it was a pleasure meeting him. He tried to speak small talk with her for some time, but gave up after she showed no interest in his conversation stating the best restaurants to order whisky and champagne.
They all went to Mr. Danis’s house, where Ashley and Amanda packed the last of their clothing for joining the school. They took the luggage and made a quick stop at the penthouse to grab Carmen’s bags. They drove to the airport, where they had coffee before boarding the flight. Mr. Danis regretfully said good-bye to his daughters.
“We’ll have people around your school in charge of your security,” he said. He looked towards his daughters. “They don’t know what they are getting into. Make sure that they realize it.”
Carmen nodded. She joined Amanda and Ashley at the check-in counter and they walked into the plane. They had three seats, in the middle row, so weren’t forced to choose who would have to sit alone. It seemed that no matter how much time they had, they still had things to talk about.
It was a boring ride from the New York Airport to her school, in which spent they most of the time sleeping. Carmen groggily entered the dormitory and fell asleep, not bothering even to change into her pajamas or brush her teeth.
She woke up as usual at six o’clock in the morning, and got ready for school, as enthusiastic as a bird for its first flight. She took her self-defense book to school, planning to return it to Mrs. Palmer.
This isso not enough for my protection now, she thought. She walked to school, and passed by the administrative office on her way to the biology lab. As she expected to, she saw Amanda and Ashley waiting before the principal’s office. She waved a hurried hello to them before entering the biology laboratory.
Mrs. Palmer was waiting for her, and did something she had never done before. She hurried over to Carmen and hugged her. Mrs. Palmer’s fuzzy turtleneck scratched her, and she struggled not to pull away. She stood stiff as a board before she was let go. She took the book out of her bag and placed it in her teacher’s hands.
“Oh dear, I’m sorry about your grandfather’s death.” She said in a sympathetic tone. “How are you doing?”
Carmen feigned indifference, and muttered a simple “fine” before sitting and beginning reading. Ashley and Amanda came up behind her, and looked at her back in utter shock.
“This is what you do every morning?” Amanda asked with much disdain in her voice. “Guys being turned off by you has nothing to do with your ambition.”
Ashley nodded with mock understanding. Carmen just scoffed and returned to her book. They compared their schedules, and realized that they were in all the same classes, most likely something that their father had arranged.
Mrs. Palmer wasn’t the kind of teacher that made new students stand at the front of the class to introduce them. She let the students make friends themselves. The three girls took all the seats in the first row, and paid rapt attention to the class that Mrs. Palmer taught on genetics. It was the first day of many that Carmen actually didn’t feel the dark looks of the other students, and wasn’t the least annoyed by the things they said to her.
As she walked towards the open casket, the fear built up in her heart. She didn’t know what she would feel on seeing who was inside. It could be anger, or frustration, or guilt, or sadness. Ignoring the sinking feeling in her stomach, she walked forward, and looked into the face of the man that had made her a true orphan by dying.
She didn’t feel angry, or frustrated. His face was calm, peaceful, and serene. When she saw his face, she didn’t think of death, but of an eternal, dreamless sleep, which was his reward for all he had done in life.
The tears started flowing out of her eyes, without her knowing about them. She felt it was strange to weep so much for a man she had never even known. Amanda and Ashley comforted her. She saw Mr. Danis looking at them from a distance with a look of pride in his eyes.
Slowly, people started filling the pews of the church. Carmen walked up to the altar, and started speaking.
“My grandfather was a great man. He was a great man that I never got to meet. And now I regret that every second, after I’ve lost the chance to meet him. After my parents died, he took better care of me than most people saddled with a teenage girl would. He sent me to the best school in the country, and assured that I had a good future. I know that there are people out there, that might feel happiness at my grandfather’s death, but they are few and far between, and they are wrong to feel joy. My grandfather’s death is not only my loss, or the loss of all the people here, but the world’s loss. We will try to replace him, and find we cannot fully succeed. We will try to go on as if nothing has changed, but we will find that things have changed, that cannot be brought back. We will try to forget, only to realize that my grandfather has left an impression in our minds that cannot be forgotten. But the sorrow will lessen, and when we think of him later on, we will remember not the sadness of his death, but the happy memories he brought us, and the magnitude of his achievements.”
Hot tears were streaming down her cheeks, and she wiped them off before going back to her seat. A few people were still looking at her, as she laid her head on Ashley’s shoulder.
Afterwards, at the cemetery, people came up to her, offering their condolences. Carmen thanked each person with humility. Amanda and Ashley never left her side. A man, about forty years old came up to her. He had an unshaven beard, brown hair, dry lips, and red eyes. Carmen could see it was not from crying but from alcohol. He walked straight up to her.
“That was quite a moving speech up there… Carmen was it? I’m your uncle, Charlie.”
Carmen took a step back, unable to stand the smell of whisky on the Charlie’s breath. She lied and said that it was a pleasure meeting him. He tried to speak small talk with her for some time, but gave up after she showed no interest in his conversation stating the best restaurants to order whisky and champagne.
They all went to Mr. Danis’s house, where Ashley and Amanda packed the last of their clothing for joining the school. They took the luggage and made a quick stop at the penthouse to grab Carmen’s bags. They drove to the airport, where they had coffee before boarding the flight. Mr. Danis regretfully said good-bye to his daughters.
“We’ll have people around your school in charge of your security,” he said. He looked towards his daughters. “They don’t know what they are getting into. Make sure that they realize it.”
Carmen nodded. She joined Amanda and Ashley at the check-in counter and they walked into the plane. They had three seats, in the middle row, so weren’t forced to choose who would have to sit alone. It seemed that no matter how much time they had, they still had things to talk about.
It was a boring ride from the New York Airport to her school, in which spent they most of the time sleeping. Carmen groggily entered the dormitory and fell asleep, not bothering even to change into her pajamas or brush her teeth.
She woke up as usual at six o’clock in the morning, and got ready for school, as enthusiastic as a bird for its first flight. She took her self-defense book to school, planning to return it to Mrs. Palmer.
This isso not enough for my protection now, she thought. She walked to school, and passed by the administrative office on her way to the biology lab. As she expected to, she saw Amanda and Ashley waiting before the principal’s office. She waved a hurried hello to them before entering the biology laboratory.
Mrs. Palmer was waiting for her, and did something she had never done before. She hurried over to Carmen and hugged her. Mrs. Palmer’s fuzzy turtleneck scratched her, and she struggled not to pull away. She stood stiff as a board before she was let go. She took the book out of her bag and placed it in her teacher’s hands.
“Oh dear, I’m sorry about your grandfather’s death.” She said in a sympathetic tone. “How are you doing?”
Carmen feigned indifference, and muttered a simple “fine” before sitting and beginning reading. Ashley and Amanda came up behind her, and looked at her back in utter shock.
“This is what you do every morning?” Amanda asked with much disdain in her voice. “Guys being turned off by you has nothing to do with your ambition.”
Ashley nodded with mock understanding. Carmen just scoffed and returned to her book. They compared their schedules, and realized that they were in all the same classes, most likely something that their father had arranged.
Mrs. Palmer wasn’t the kind of teacher that made new students stand at the front of the class to introduce them. She let the students make friends themselves. The three girls took all the seats in the first row, and paid rapt attention to the class that Mrs. Palmer taught on genetics. It was the first day of many that Carmen actually didn’t feel the dark looks of the other students, and wasn’t the least annoyed by the things they said to her.