Life And Death

The girl was excited. She knew she should be sad, but she wasn’t. The family was going to attend a funeral for a family member on her dad’s side. She could not remember going to many funerals. (Actually, only one). Her uncle had died very young, when she was probably four years old. All she could remember of that funeral was an aunt holding her up to the casket to get her last look at uncle.

There was a reason the girl was happy and excited. She had been invited to go home with her favorite cousin after the funeral. She would be staying a week. She and her sister, both, were going to cousin’s home.

When the family arrived, they filed into a pew on the right side of the church.
Daddy and Mama were seated by people they knew and everyone was talking in whispers. The girl had been warned not to talk in church. So she, her sister, and cousin sat quietly.

The church filled quickly. It soon became apparent there were not enough seats for the people coming in. Daddy asked the girl, her sister, and cousin to stand up and let someone older have those seats. This they did, and were sent to the small vestibule to stand until the funeral was over.

The girl was being very quite. The vestibule was filling up. Many people were standing just inside the church, so they could hear all the preacher was saying.

Then it happened. The girl dropped her purse. The thought went through her mind, “It would have to be me to drop something and make a noise.” She started to bend down to pick up her purse and bumped the cousin. The cousin bumped her back. Then everything went black.

When the girl awoke, she found herself in the hearse. Many men were looking at her and fanning her with their hats. The girl had fainted. Daddy was in the hearse with her. The girl got up and wondered what had happened. They told her she had passed out.

Finally the funeral was over, the person had been buried, and the visiting was going on. The girl found her folks and asked if she should get her clothes and move them to her aunt’s car. Daddy said the sister could go, but he didn’t think the girl should. The girl was very upset. She wanted to go with the others. She almost started to cry. Then Aunt spoke up. She convinced Daddy to let her go. She promised that if there was any other sign that the girl was not well, she would take her home immediately. Finally Daddy agreed.

The girl stayed the whole week with her cousin. What fun the girl had. She never knew what made her faint that day and she has never fainted since. ~True Story!