Voices in the Dark

 A short story that I wrote...enjoy

The aroma of calla lilies, burnt wax and Chanel No˚5 filled the air. The muffled sobs in the distance filled my ears. The foul taste of formaldehyde occupied itself on my tongue. I question why I cannot open my eyes. Why do I only hear, smell and taste what is going on around me? My once youthful body has now rotted away into a frail withered carcass. My brittle joints cracked like a breakfast of scrambled eggs and crispy bacon. I attempt to open my crinkled eyelids again, only to find that the eyeballs that once lay inside them were gone. Liquefied plastic was all that remained. Darkness, nothing but sheer darkness was there around me. My body felt like stone, heavy and cold. I felt the slight tingle on the back of my left hand, grazing against what felt to be wood, hard, grainy and lifeless, all of this accompanied by the feelings of claustrophobia. My cramped paralyzed body lay lifeless in this unknown prison.
“She was such a sad young girl.” A mysterious voice said
“Yes, indeed she was.” Another voice responded
These echoing voices intrigued me. From the tone and pitch, I could tell that both voices were women, old as a matter of fact.
“Hello Ethel dear”
“Oh, hello there Paula!”
Well, my suspicions are confirmed.
“How old was she?” One of the women asked.
“I believe seventeen.” The other unknown voice replied.
“Such a shame.” she bellowed.
At this point, I could tell who was who. Ethel seemed to be kind old lady with a quiet placid voice while I was under the impression that Paula was an old hag, her voice was full of vindictiveness and hatred. In the moment I really only cared about figuring out who this mystery girl was.
“Do you know her name by any chance?” Paula said
“No, I don’t think anybody did.” Ethel responded
“Just another invisible soul, I guess?”
What? What was a shame? Who? Who was the girl they spoke of? Why did nothing seem clear? Mystery is all there appears to be to this story it seems. These questions lingered in my mind for the next few minutes. I desperately continued to eavesdrop in an attempt to gather more information.
“Apparently she was supposed to go off to University next year, to study English.”
“Oh dear!” cried Ethel.
“I know. She had her whole life ahead of her. Too bad she didn’t stay around to see it.”
Why? What happened to her? Tell me!
“How did she go?” Ethel inquired.
“Suicide. Downed a bottle of pills and slit her wrists wide open. A painful way to go if you ask me.” Paula disgracefully uttered.
Nothing but pure astonishment filled my mind. I felt nothing but pure tragedy when those words hit the edge of my ear drums. But at that point, all I wanted to know was who the young girl was.
“I heard that she also drowned herself.” Ethel said.
“Really? Well I guess she really wanted to die then?” Paula sarcastically spat.
“You don’t say?”
It deeply angered me. To hear a girl’s life slandered and treated with such disrespect.  Suddenly, I began to hear another voice. This time it was a man’s voice, garish and very low pitched.
“We are all gathered here on this beautiful spring day to remember this young woman.”
His voice had a true English presence, accompanied with tones of solemnness. His voice trembled as he spoke, and was accompanied by long wailing cries. Not of his, but of other people’s. The cries were so powerful that they drowned out the feeble tweets of the birds residing outside.
“April 27th marked the day that she left us. Her 18th birthday, a day that should have been chock-full with celebration, turned into a tragic moment for all of us.” The man (who I assumed to be the minister) said.
At the same time, another conversation started to take place. I was drawn to it and I couldn’t help but to listen attentively.
“ Look at this moron! He’s reading right off of a script. Anybody could see that.”
“Daniel! Shut up!”
“No, I’m not going to shut up! This whole funeral is a joke!” He snorted.
“Dan—“
“Why would anybody waste all of their time and money for this? I mean, she was a nobody.” Daniel bellowed.
“Daniel please! Just show some respect!”
“Really Justin? She was. I thought so. You thought so. The entire school thought so. Hell, her own family even made her out to be a nobody!”
“That’s not true. I was speaking to them before hand and they were heartbroken. I saw it in their eyes.”
“Well, of course! That’s what they want everyone to believe. They are obviously faking it because if they didn’t, they would be seen as heartless.”
“Okay, now you’re blowing this out of proportion! You’re crazy.” Justin exclaimed
“Me, crazy? I’m not the one who broke down in the middle of the class and killed myself.” Daniel chuckled.
“I think you would have if you were in her position. If you were going through what she was going through.”
“Justin, you never cease to amaze me.” Daniel said.
“How so?” Justin asked
“Well, at first you were the guy who bullied the hell out of this girl. Now here you are sticking up for her? Make up your mind!”
“I have made up my mind. I decided that my initial decision to attack her was wrong. Once I found out about her depression, I realized that she really needed help, someone to be there. All of you sat there and judged from the outside, while not taking the time to see the world from her eyes. To realize the hell she was going through every day of her life. Unfortunately I was too late. I couldn’t do anything to help because by then she had already killed herself—“
“Why do you have to be such a buzz kill?” Daniel yelled
At that point all I heard was an enormous hush from somewhere. I assumed that it was from someone in the audience. After a few moments of awkward silence the conversation resumed.
“I was simply stating the truth. Does that make me a bad person? No matter what we do, it won’t bring her back. So let’s stop with the abusive words and just let the girl rest in peace.”
“Shh! It’s almost done!” Daniel crudely interjected.
I guess he was referring to the ceremony.
“And in conclusion, while she did have a troubled mind, her soul was truly wholesome. Ashley will always be in our hearts. Thank you all for coming.”
It was at that moment when I realized that I was a witness to my own funeral. No words could express how shocked I was. Emotion couldn’t run itself through my mind anymore. I heard nothing but silence, followed by the faint clattering of footsteps in the distance. Suddenly, I felt a rumbling sensation and my body began to roll back and forth. The lurid noise of machinery and the feeling of sickness brought me to realize that I was being buried. Soon to be repressed and forgotten by the world. As I felt the weight of freshly burrowed soil ensconce itself over me, I realized that it was the end.