Читать книгу Respect the Dead - Shawn McLain - Страница 2

Seven year old Elizabeth McDaniel watched her father greet family members. Everyone was dressed in black. Beth didn't like it. The conversations were muttered, interrupted with sniffs and sighs. Beth hated the quiet, she hated the sad faces, most of all she hated seeing her mother at the front of the room as if asleep. As soon as she could, Beth slipped out of the room when her ten year old brother Steve wasn’t looking. He was never very good at keeping an eye on his sister.

Beth crept down a long hallway, the silence here closed in around her, hurting her ears. Steve had found a vending machine earlier, bringing her her favorite candy. She wanted to see the brightly colored wrappers, see wanted to see any color other than black. She felt in the little purse she carried for some change. She hated wearing a dress, hated carrying the little bag, she hated being here.

Swiping the tears off her cheeks she saw a door at the end of the hall. As she got closer she could see it was open slightly, “just like Steve to leave a door open.” She frowned. Pushing the door further open she found herself at the top of some stairs. Shrugging Beth held the handrail and made her decent. At the bottom she found herself looking at two doors. She opened the door to her left. The room was full of caskets. Beth closed the door quickly. Frustration made her stamp her foot, why couldn’t he have left one of these doors open? Breathing fast she turned and opened the other door.

Beth stood in the doorway shaking from head to toe, a tear ran down her face. The room was brightly lit with a gleaming steal table in the middle. On the table was a young man, a large needle was in his neck another in the leg. Red blood ran out of one tube while a yellow liquid flowed in the other. Beth stared from the tubes to the head of the man. From mid-nose down everything was fine. The eyes and forehead were flattened, black blue and stained in blood.

“Yeah, ran into the back of a trailer. Completely smashed his face, died instantly. The mother wanted an open casket but I convinced…” A woman had appeared out of a back room Beth hadn’t noticed, she stopped talking immediately. A man emerged from behind the woman. He walked over to Beth and put a hand on her shoulder.

“Be respectful around the dead and do not fear them. For one day we will be them.” The man said in a soothing voice.

This did not have the calming effect he had intended. Beth began to scream. In a flash she turned running as fast as she could back up the stairs and straight into the arms of her father. It took Mr. McDaniel several minutes to calm her. When she could finally breathe normally again Beth was looking through the open doors down the long rows of seat to the open casket. She clung to her brother’s hand as they made their way to the front for their mother’s funeral. Beth stopped hallway along, panicked and crying she tugged at her brother trying to get back into the hall. Strong arms lifted her up. She clung to her father, tears seeping through tight shut eyes. She felt the shudder of her father and the sniffling of her brother but didn't open her eyes until they were at the cemetary.