The somber man with the rounded shoulders hadn't been given a second thought when he claimed Mrs. Clancy's remains. No one cared he favored his right side when he walked and that his black suit looked like it had been slept in for days. Afterall, he had the appropriate documents and 'release fee" in hand when he showed up to collect the body.
*****
The man didn't speak a word as he watched the coffin lowered slowly into the freshly dug grave. The priest quietly recited the prayers and blessings, intermittently sprinkling holy water and swinging the censor until the scent of myrrh hung in the air and clung to the man's wrinkled black suit. He stood stoically as the grave was filled and covered. He remained there long after the priest and the others had left, standing like a silent sentry until the shadow off the tree canopy stretched over the grave and new marker to shade it. The headstone simply read:
Rosemary "ine Clancy Beloved Wife, Mother and Friend
Finally the man limped to the cool stone marker that matched and stood beside another, older stone marker identifying the final resting place of one ?Aidan Jacob Clancy' and left a single yellow rose atop the new headstone.
Gwyr didn't look back nor break his silence as he retreated to the waiting carriage.
*****
The man didn't speak a word as he watched the coffin lowered slowly into the freshly dug grave. The priest quietly recited the prayers and blessings, intermittently sprinkling holy water and swinging the censor until the scent of myrrh hung in the air and clung to the man's wrinkled black suit. He stood stoically as the grave was filled and covered. He remained there long after the priest and the others had left, standing like a silent sentry until the shadow off the tree canopy stretched over the grave and new marker to shade it. The headstone simply read:
Rosemary "ine Clancy Beloved Wife, Mother and Friend
Finally the man limped to the cool stone marker that matched and stood beside another, older stone marker identifying the final resting place of one ?Aidan Jacob Clancy' and left a single yellow rose atop the new headstone.
Gwyr didn't look back nor break his silence as he retreated to the waiting carriage.