Member-only story
The Wrong Funeral
When a Lie Becomes a True Legacy
In just three seconds, the world as Jessica knew it disintegrated. That was all the time she required to grasp that she was at the inappropriate funeral, at the wrong moment, amidst the wrong crowd. Yet, occasionally, the most heartbreaking errors are the ones that lead to our salvation.
The atmosphere was so dense that Jessica felt she could slice through it with her crimson-painted nails. Each inhalation resembled a cry, every gesture a possible affront. She was aware that she was on the verge of facing either the most humiliating episode of her existence — or potentially something life-altering.
Richard Thompson was not merely a name. He was a puzzle that fate had decided to present to her as a harsh and unforeseen trial. Each picture of the departed seemed to gaze at her, as if proclaiming: “You don’t belong here… yet here you are.”
The weeping shadows around her fostered a mesmerizing environment. Jessica felt akin to an outsider in a film, devoid of a script or a clear role. Yet, something would irrevocably shift in just a few moments.
“My father always spoke highly of you,” Richard’s daughter murmured, clasping her hand tightly.
In that brief moment, Jessica understood her fabrication would be grander than she had…
