Chapter 5
Funeral

I opened the doors; John raced out of the room and found Lilith lying on the corridor floor. Eleanor lifted Lilith up; she smoothly flew to her bead. She looked chalk white but peaceful. Death had come with too much pain for her fragile body and now she had found some peace. I wanted her back; I didn’t care if she was better now or not. Death was a barrier we couldn’t cross and Lilith had gone beyond the line. My mind couldn’t reach her; my talents couldn’t bring her back.
We waited beside her till the cold night started to fill the room. Every mind in the room was trying to tell “I am sorry Lilith”. We were all sorry for not being able to do anything, not being able to stop her from slipping away from us. Her death was too quick and too cruel. I wondered what we could have done. Perhaps we could have called a doctor when she first got sick that would give the doctor some time to think about the symptoms. We could have searched for the symptoms instead of just giving her some medicine. We could have watched her more to see if there was anything that triggered the symptoms.
-It’s too late to wonder about those things Elizabeth. We should stop torturing ourselves. We can’t change the past.
I didn’t answer her. What would I say? Could I even speak?
One by one everyone left the room. Edwin and John went to repair the staircase. For sure Margaret and Claire would wonder what had happened to the staircase, but I was sure they would be too afraid to ask. The way we treated them was much different than other people around. Their communication with the outer world was minimized but they heard about other maids and housekeepers. They were happy with their home and they kept their thoughts about our strange habits to themselves.
Lilith was lying on the bed. I was waiting her to wake up and ask me what the matter was. I waited and waited, she didn’t move. She didn’t get up and started talking. She just laid there. Her body was white and lifeless. Her soul had been long gone.
-When are you going to accept it?
-Never!
-You are acting like a child. She is gone! I am sorry to state it this openly but that is it. You have been standing here since noon and it’s almost midnight. Get some sleep.
-I don’t need any sleep.
-I am sure you don’t need any sleep after such a breakdown; there is glass all over the ground and you are telling me that you have enough in you to last you to the next day. Are you joking?
-Look Eleanor, I am good here. I will sleep here if you want me to sleep that much! Just call Edwin and John here.
-You want to build a tomb for her. It would be better if she was buried.
-I want to keep her this way. She had her life taken from her, her beauty faded before it could even blossom.
-And a tomb is going to do it all. Try to be reasonable!
-I am reasonable and sane too.
-Its wrong to try to keep her in any kind of way. Don’t you know?
-I know, but the right question would be don’t you care.
-You do care.
I didn’t answer her this time. She was winning, and the worst of all was that she was indeed right.
-Why don’t we burry her Elizabeth, then we will build a beautiful stone house around her grave.
-Fine, but I want a marble house.
-All right whatever kind of stone you wish.
-Marble.
-I will talk to Edwin he will get the things ready. Tomorrow it is right?
-Yes, tomorrow at midnight. She was born at midnight and she will be forever buried at midnight.
-Death is a part of the deal. Out of all we are the ones who shouldn’t complain at all, with the power we were born we live enough for any creature.
-We live as long as any human can, I don’t care about the standard lifespan we get. What about her? She had only 18 full years.
-We cannot change the past; neither can we change the fate.
-That is the main problem.
Eleanor went to talk to Edwin and John. I stayed with Lilith till the sun took its place in the sky. I asked Eleanor to wait with her and went to get some sleep. Eleanor was right I was exhausted. I slept till the sun sank. John woke me up with a simple kiss.
-I sent Margaret and Claire away for a few days. Staircase is usable too. It’s almost 8 o’clock. You should get ready.
I nodded. I had to get ready for my daughter’s funeral.
I wore my black dress and wore a black veil. I found the leather box in the drawer of my chiffonier. That brown leather box I hadn’t seen for so long brought all the bad memories. The last time I had to use that was when my father and mother had passed away. I opened the box and took the small black candles out. 7 candles, they were used twice. It would be the third time and hopefully the last time I would have to use them.
Downstairs Eleanor was waiting by the stairs. She had also worn her black dress but she had a black lace around her hair.
-They are waiting by the marble house you asked for. Building took too long, so please be nice about it.
-I asked for a simple 4 walled marble building with a marble roof. What took you so long to build?
-Well, we thought you would want some gold colons. It was hard to work with gold.
-Its done right?
-Yes. It’s a little small. I don’t think it will take 6 people at once.
-It is a good thing we are only 4. I am going to lock the door after the ceremony.
-You didn’t state your choice or material for the door so we thought you would want it marble.
-Marble door is good.
We walked around the house; they had built the place inside the forest. We walked for ten minutes and I saw a white building shining in the night. It had a low ceiling. 4 colons were built on the corners. John and Edwin were waiting by the door. They had black ceremony robes on them.
-Are we going to do it my way?
-I want to put some sculptures, Elizabeth.
-We will do it my way and then you can put your sculptures, John.
John wasn’t a witch. He had some special talents with communication. Still his belief was different then mine or others. He believed that dead should have something of the past to recognize his or her identity. That could be anything a drawing, a toy, jewelry. In this case he wanted to place some small sculptures next to her grave. I could accept that as he had accepted to make the ceremony my way.
Eleanor started to sing the first prayer. Edwin and John lit the black candles and placed them by the door. I sang with Eleanor. Our voice disturbed the night in the forest. As the moon rose in the sky, Edwin lit the grass around the marble building. We continued to sing. We sang more than 9 prayers; it was almost midnight now, so we slowly entered the marble building.
Lilith was lying in a black coffin. They had put her hands over her heart. Lit wasn’t closed. We stopped singing and made a circle around her.
-We have 20 minutes to midnight, Elizabeth.
I started to sing again. Eleanor companied me. Edwin and John joined us. Our voice echoed in the building. The fire around the marble building got bigger and bigger. Edwin was controlling the flames with his voice. As he sang his voice rose above ours and the fire around the marble building grew. I could feel the heat now. His voice rose higher and higher with the fire. Then Eleanor slowed the prayer and we ended our prayer with tears running down our cheeks. Eleanor was the only one who wasn’t crying. Her tears were more controlled. Thinking about it, I had never seen her cry. Edwin was different, he was more emotional. His tears fell to the ground and the fire cooled down. I couldn’t feel the heat anymore.

-Here lays the daughter of Elizabeth and John Tremortan. Her soul is not with us, and her body shall return to the ground. May her soul be at peace…

I repeated my words 5 times; John and Edwin closed the lit. Eleanor brought some earth and buried the coffin. I brought the candles with an easy mind twist. I placed them around the fresh grave and lit them. I wouldn’t come to take them back as I was supposed to after 2 weeks. This time I wanted them to stay with her forever. It was a tradition to give your child 7candles so that she or he can light them when you are dead. Then they take the candles back and keep them. It represented the child’s moving on with her or his parent’s death. This time I didn’t want to move on. I didn’t want to forget, so called fate had taken her away from me and I wanted her back… I wouldn’t forget.

I left the building and waited by the door for John to place his sculptures. Eleanor and Edwin went to get ready for the road. When John was finished, I closed the marble door, it was indeed a heavy door it took some effort to close it. I made sure no one would be able to open the door. I thought about planting some bushes to hide the marble building.
-I was thinking about calling it the Maiden Temple.
-That is a good name Elizabeth. We should build a temple around it too. That way no one will be able to get in.
-A temple would be nice.
We went back to the main house. Eleanor and Edwin were by the door.
-Are you leaving already?
-Yes we must go John.
We hugged and they said farewell. There was a small carriage waiting over the fences. They left the main gate and rode to the dark.
They were gone. Lilith was gone. Margaret and Claire weren’t home. The main house seemed empty. Worst of all was that tomorrow the sun would rise and the life would go on just like nothing had happened in the past 2 days. Life would go on indeed but with a small exception mine wasn’t going on; it had frozen. The morning my daughter had died, I had died…