The Funeral

Only about 20 people came to the funeral in total. Sean panned around the room as mourners gathered into the funeral hall. It was quiet. Everyone was holding in their tears for the time being. People came up to the deceased’s wife and family and offered their condolences and sat in their respective seats. Just before it began, the wife leaned over to Sean and said, “I’m really sorry to ask this of you, but I don’t think i will be able to make my speech later. Could you do it for me?” Sean stared at his sister-in-law blankly, tired after sleepless nights of planning and the years before that when the cancer was slowly eating away at his older brother. Without a sound, he nodded and faced the front again. A silent frustration came over him.

‘I don’t have a speech ready,’ he thought to himself, ‘if you had gotten everything ready like I had asked you to, I wouldn’t be in this position.’

Sean sat debating whether or not he should say anything regarding his lack of preparation. He watched as the casket was brought into the front of the room. Then the pastor walked in. Sean took a breath, relieved that he didn’t vocalize his frustrations. As the pastor made his way up to greet the family, he stopped by Sean and without a word, handed him a small white envelope. A few handshakes and some gentle words were exchanged before the pastor excused himself to start the service. Sean’s curiosity of the envelope’s contents distracted him from the task of having to come up with an impromptu speech. The pastor walked his way up to the podium, thanked those that were in attendance and opened with a prayer. “Tony was a great man who will be remembered for his passion for volunteer work, humour and kindness.” Sean thought back to his brother’s orphanage he opened in China, the well they built together in Laos, as well as the backpacking adventures they used to have together. In the midst of his reminiscing, he felt a nudge on his arm. His sister-in-law motioned for him to step up to the podium. He stood up, straightened his suit and walked up towards the stand. A pause was felt by the room. Sean gazed across the faces who had come to mourn his brother. As not to appear unprepared, he pulled out a small black book from his inner jacket pocket, which did not contain any kind of speech, but was more a journal of sorts. He used it to keep track of his itinerary on his travels with his brother around the world.

Sean opened the cover of the book and flipped through the first few pages. He let out a brief cough before beginning. “My brother always thought of how to help others. He took pride in the fact that he could do something useful for those less fortunate than himself. During his life, he built an orphanage, a well, and was on track to build a shelter for the homeless before his untimely passing. His desire to help others knew no limits. He would always research areas for his next project, finding underprivileged areas, finding what essentials they were lacking, and how to solve the problem by his own means.” Sean continued to go through the motions as if reading what the book contained. “And he was a true believer of peace. Even though others talked about helping, he went out and did it. He accomplished all of these things on his own. Even as the cancer was taking over his body, he still made the flights out to tend to his orphanage, drew up teaching plans, and treated those kids as if they were his own.” He paused again, holding back the tear drops coming to his eyes. “Tony would have wanted me to keep this short. So I’d like to thank you all for coming here today. Tony is blessed to have such genuine friends.” Sean delicately closed the book, took a step away from the podium, and was met with polite applause on the way back to his seat.

The pastor came back to the podium, thanked Sean for his speech, and announced that it was time for the final viewing. His sister-in-law was openly sobbing, her son had his hand on her back in an attempt to console her. It was Sean’s turn. He stood over the casket, looking at his brother within. ‘I’ve never seen him so thin…’ Sean’s thoughts trailed off for a moment, and in a swift movement he moved the small booklet of memories from his pocket into his brother’s. “This is so that you never forget all of the people you helped,” he whispered, “don’t worry about me though, I can always get another one.” With one final look, he stepped aside to let the other mourners have their turn.

Sunlight beamed across the glass panes on the roof of the funeral home, illuminating the inside as the ceremonies inside came to a close. The casket was lowered, and Sean got one last look at his brother’s final resting place before the dirt was shovelled back on top. He remained stoic despite his heart being left shredded. Soon after, people started clearing out and heading home, but Sean stayed behind. Remembering the envelope the pastor had handed to him previously, he pulled it out, now noticing it was completely unmarked. Sean opened the envelope, inspecting all of its contents before uncovering them. Inside was a letter and two folded bills. His eyes widened as he unfolded the bills, revealing two rare 10,000 dollar bills. He scrambled to open the letter which read:

I look up to you. Even though you’re my younger brother, you have the courage of a lion and it was your courage that pushed me to do what I thought was impossible. I had been planning to build that orphanage for years before I came and talked to you about it. Your enthusiasm to go at the drop of a hat to help me was truly remarkable. I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have as a brother. You came to my aid during my treatment and never left my side. You practically went to hell and back taking care of me at great expense to yourself which I cannot thank you enough for. The money inside is merely a small token of my appreciation for you. I do regret that I could not have left you with more, but with my bills and the expenses from the orphanage, this is all I could muster up. I’m sorry.

Sean stood over the fresh laid dirt with the note in his hand, the money crumpled up in his clenched fist. He looked up towards the beams of light coming down from the sun and in its warm glow, he felt a single tear, then another, and another forming in his eyes and streaming down his cheeks. The tears felt hot as they rolled their way down his face. He composed himself, sniffling once or twice and drying his tears on his sleeve before making his way back to his car. He opened the door, sat inside, unravelled the money, and folded it neatly with the letter before gingerly placing it in his pocket. He drove home in silence, unsure of what step to take next.

Nearly two weeks had passed since the funeral as Sean awoke on a tightly packed train heading into a small village in China, north of Beijing. He had an idea for the money, but was unsure if the execution of said idea would properly come to fruition. The train let out a bellowing whistle as it pulled into the stop. With only a backpack in hand, Sean exited the train and began walking through the village, hoping someone would be able to speak English with, but to no avail. He continued trekking through the town for another three hours and at the border, he found it. There a modest two story building stood, surrounded by a short concrete fence. Inside the property there were some trees, a little garden, and a rusty playground, complete with jungle gym and swings that swayed from side to side as the wind blew. Standing at the edge of the front gate, Sean hesitated before stepping in. As he made his way to the entrance of the building, he heard children shouting and playing from inside. A wooden sign hung on the door reading “Hope4Kids” which gave Sean confidence that he was indeed at the right place.

The aged metal doors squeaked as he opened them. A woman came out of one of the rooms, looked directly at Sean and stormed her way over to him. She had a wiry frame, with long black hair, and thick glasses. She began to ask him questions in Mandarin, becoming furious when Sean was unable to answer. Her relentless barrage of questioning ended when she paused to clean off her glasses.

“I’m terribly sorry,” Sean apologized, “I don’t speak Mandarin. I’m looking for someone by the name of Luyi that works here. Do you know her?”

The woman paused again, hesitantly replying, “I am Luyi. I manage this place. Who are you?”

“I’m pleased to meet your acquaintance, though I do wish it were under better circumstances,” he sighed with relief, “I’m Tony’s brother.”

Luyi’s eyes lit up upon hearing Tony’s name. “Tony?! How is he? I haven’t heard from him for months now.”

Sean fell silent, unsure of how to say what was going to come next. Luyi saw the pain in his eyes and without a word, rested a hand on his shoulder. The two shared a peaceful moment of silence between strangers tied together by a soul that was no longer with them. They walked over to Luyi’s office where she made some tea as they both talked about the memories they had with Tony. Luyi took Sean for a quick tour around the building, showing him the various rooms and introducing him to some of the staff before returning to the office once again.

The door closed letting out a ‘clack’ as the latch fell into place. Sean pulled out the cash that he had gotten from his brother and placed it into Luyi’s hand. “This was from Tony. He left it with me as a present,” Sean stated, once again holding back tears, “I pondered for a while, exploring different avenues I could have gone down with this money, but I thought that it would best be put to use here.” Luyi was in shock, she moved her lips but no sound came out. She tried to give the money back to Sean, but instead of taking it back, he clasped his hands around hers. “I know that this is what he would have most wanted. This was money he had earned that was meant for this place. Use it for maintenance, a new playground, or anything else to help the kids here. I’d like to stay here a while too and help out however I can. I could teach some basic English or math to the kids.” Luyi, still speechless, nodded excitedly just as the bell tolled for recess. The pair walked their way to the playground, watching the children squealing with glee as they entertained themselves. The children exploded with excitement when they noticed the new person standing by Luyi and all ran towards him, beaming their young and innocent smiles. Sean smiled back at them. He knew he had large shoes to fill, and was still uncertain as to what was coming next, but seeing the rewards of his efforts made it all worthwhile.