Goodbye

The funeral party was abnormally small for the accidental death of a young man. There was no sniffling or crying here, only the ministers voice droning on over the chill in the air. A middle aged couple, two young women, a teenage boy, a man in a second hand suit, the minister, six paid pallbearers and not a single tear to shed between them all. There was one more there to witness the event, but she was far enough away not to be noticed and was currently presenting herself as a canine.

Sasaiya sat beneath a tree and watched as they lowered the casket into the ground. Somehow she wasn't surprised that they had chosen to have him buried here in New York than ship him back home for the funeral. She'd met them all once, his family, when he brought her home for a supposed holiday visit. They were good people. It had surprised her at first, to find that, having expected, based on Caleb's behavior, a home situation similar to her own, only to be welcomed into their home and treated far kinder than she'd ever even believed. That's why it had hurt to find out that his family visit was nothing more than an excuse to threaten and extort them for money.

As they threw handfuls of grave dirt down into his final resting place, she wondered how it felt to be burying a son and brother feeling nothing but relief that he was gone. They'd been as cowed by him as she was, she'd seen it on their faces while they all sat together around the dinner table. Too scared of him to say no, to protest when he hit her in front of them, or let the police know that the missing girl from down the street, the one that had been gone for almost a year then, had shown up on their doorstep as their sons 'guest'. But she didn't hold a grudge against them for it. Caleb was manipulative, crafty, and he would have a way to protect himself even if they had, and then he would have made them pay for it.

It was over now, not just the funeral, but this chapter in her life. As she watched them shuffle back to their cars she felt happy for them, that they would never have to worry about their monster again, that they could move on now. Could she do it too? The man in the wrinkled suit was the only one left now, watching as they filled in the grave proper. At some point he turned and saw her and began to approach. Sasaiya looked up at him, her gaze passive as the familiar face of Roach, possibly Caleb's one and only friend, became clearer.

"Come to say your goodbyes?" He asked, taking up position beside the tree she was under and resting his back against it. He was as disheveled as ever, reeking of smoke and booze and pot, his shirt already stained, his hair a greasy mop on his head.