• Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds

    By: Turtle





    It was time. The old ladies started gossiping; little children were already joking and playing with each other, and the adults stopped talking. A tall, blonde woman in an expensive-looking dress, handed me a stack of flash cards, after failing an attempt to grin. It started to rain, and the unsurprised crowd took out their black umbrellas. As I opened mine, I realized the only person with an umbrella of a different color was Sheila, the defunct’s little sister, who had an atypical addiction to pink. I also noticed she was the only person that looked blissful. She stared at her sister’s coffin, as she listened to her mother sob. "It’s alright mommy, she went to heaven." She whispered to her ear. Her mother, Edith, bent down and kissed her, trying her best to smile.

    The priest said a few words, regarding religion and forgiveness. His speech apparently touched the people’s hearts, for they were shedding tears of joy, and nodding throughout the whole lecture. Though, I must confess, I wasn’t paying attention to any of the other eulogies. I was too busy memorizing my own.

    After a handsome man finished speaking, I was called to give my sermon. I gave one last look at the flash cards, and then I returned them to the lady. I looked at the multitude, and went blank. I completely forgot how I was supposed to start my speech. I could think of nothing else, but to improvise.

    "Good morning, everyone." I said as I walked towards the coffin. All eyes were set on me. "Right now, I’m supposed to be giving you a speech that someone prepared for this day-" I sighed. "but to be honest- I forgot what I had to say." The crowd tried to laugh. "So I’ll just extemporize." The blonde woman gave me an uneasy look. "I'll attempt to make this praiseworthy." I cleared my throat, and smiled.

    "You know, at first I wasn't friends with Dakota Blain. I thought that we were completely different." I looked at her coffin once again, making sure this wasn't a dream. This is real, I thought, I’m not dreaming.

    "At school we took Science together. I never spoke to her. As a matter of fact, I didn't even know her name until the day she came late to class. The only available seat was next to me, so the teacher made her sit there." I giggled. "For some reason, she looked excessively enthusiastic about sitting there with me. She gave me a gleaming smile, and politely introduced herself to me." I paused.

    "Afterwards, I told her my name. Even if I was one of the least popular people in the entire school, she answered: 'I know that'. Of course, I was stunned to hear this from a girl that was almost as 'popular' in the school as I was. I had never seen her gossip, caught her staring at me, or even having a long conversation with someone, so how on Earth did she know my name? I asked her, but she just smiled at me, and said that we were going to be great friends..." A few tears rolled down my cheek. "and she was right." For the first time since her daughter's death, Edith smiled.

    "Since that day, we sat together in Science class. We realized how much in common we had, and eventually Dakota became my best friend. We both disliked movies where dogs 'talked', unless they were animations. We both wanted to become biologists, for no apparent reason. And our favorite song was 'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds', by The Beatles." Sheila chuckled.

    "I don't know what Dakota did to keep herself content every single day, but she was always gleeful. Even when they told her-" I stopped. "That she had lung cancer!" Sheila blurted out. Suddenly, there was a dead silence. The old ladies stopped gossiping, the little kids stopped fooling around, the adults kept quiet, and the rain ceased. "Please... continue." Edith said. I nodded.

    "Actually, I didn't know about her illness until the day of the surgery, when Edith called me. She seemed to be so happy... I could have never guessed she was sick. I remember before she passed away... I was with her. The doctor told me she wouldn't make it. I sat next to her, and asked her if there was anything I could do for her. She smiled, and asked me to sing her our favorite song, so I did. When I got to the 'look for the girl with the Sun in her eyes, and she's gone' part... she had... taken off." I found myself drowning in tears. "But I guess it's true- nothing gold can stay..."

    The funeral had ended. The old ladies were once again gossiping, children continued to play, and the adults remained quiet. A few people congratulated me on my speech, I told Edith I was sorry for her loss, and then I left.

    I still can't face the fact that she's dead, but I guess it's true: nothing gold can stay.