His halted steps were deliberate. He had no physical ailment restraining him but the heaviness in his heart seemed to impede his movement. The church steps spanned his peripheral vision and the large wooden doors loomed ahead making him feel small, almost minuscule. He had to cross the threshold. He knew that as sure as he knew he needed to breathe the air that now seemed viscous and ready to choke him with his next inhalation.
One foot found its place in front of the other and his hand reached for the over-sized handle. The door groaned its argument about being forced open but he moved forward, knowing what waited for him on the other side. He knew the faces he would see would seem vaguely familiar but he could not focus on them. Today was about something much deeper. Today was about death.
He had recited the eulogy aloud over and over until the words had etched themselves into his brain. The crowd fell silent as he made his way to the front of the room. He furtively glanced at the collection of people gathered within the confines of the church walls and collected every ounce of strength that remained in his sorrow-filled body.
The many trial runs in the mirror made it easier and the words seem to spill from his lips. “My name is Ray, and I am an alcoholic. Somewhere along the way, the person I was died and this is his funeral.”
“Hi, Ray.”
~
This post was written for the Trifecta Post:
DELIBERATE
1: characterized by or resulting from careful and thorough consideration <a deliberate decision>
2: characterized by awareness of the consequences<deliberate falsehood>
3: slow, unhurried, and steady as though allowing time for decision on each individual action involved
- Your response must be between 33 and 333 words.
- You must use the 3rd definition of the given word in your post.
- The word itself needs to be included in your response.
- You may not use a variation of the word; it needs to be exactly as stated above.
- Only one entry per writer.
- If your post doesn’t meet our requirements, please leave your link in the comments section, not in the linkz.
- Trifecta is open to everyone. Please join us.
polysyllabic profundities 
One day at a time mantra dovetails nicely with ‘deliberate’. Enjoyed the twist on the funeral.
Thank you. I wasn’t sure where I was going with it, but it seemed to work.
Whoa, I did not see that one coming!
I surprised myself!
Not at all what I was expecting – A great piece full of terrific details.
Thank you very much.
Quite the surprise there! I thought it was a ghost arriving at his own funeral, to be honest! (:
Thanks…I wasn’t sure how it was going to end until it ended.
I”m sure this was one death that won’t grieved over too much, but rather seen as a new beginning and a reincarnation, in a way. Great piece. I didn’t see the ending coming.
Thanks for linking up!
Thanks very much! I love the Trifecta challenges. 🙂
very clever
Thank you. 🙂
This was very twisty. I liked it.
Thanks very much.
Surprise ending! I like the idea of this funeral being about letting an old self go and beginning with a new life.
Thank you. Just like in Tarot cards – the Death Card doesn’t necessarily mean death.
Well done, as always, Susan.
Thank you. Not sure where these ideas come from, but I’m not arguing.
You shouldn’t. Never look a gift horse in the mouth, or more importantly, in the ass.
Lol….I’ll just avoid that horse completely. I can handle spiders and snakes, horses freak me out a bit.
Um….FREAK!!! 😉
Bad childhood experiences….give me a dock spider any day!! 😛
Okie dokie…
Okay….I’m a freak. 😦
lol
It’s part of my charm!
Sure! That’s the ticket!;)
YIKES – that gave me shivers! What a great story 😀
Thank you very much. 😀