Title: "Adversity On Gilman: Part 11 of 12"        

         Alone

         A gathering

         Tears of mourning

         Fond memories

         The living

         ...Death

         The contradicting feelings displayed at funerals. People cry as they miss their beloved departed. They would then laugh amongst the tears as the memories of the departed were brought up.

         Black is worn. It's a sign of mourning. But with the darkness, the gathering always appears to be the ones who are truly dying; it's not the person who rests in the casket. And every person who is present at a funeral has a distinct feeling of being along, even though many others who, likewise, are there in grievance of a death surround him or her.

         Finality

         It's the worst part of a funeral. The people realize that it will be their last chance to ever see the departed in their physical form. Images and videos may still roam, but it's merely superficial and two-dimensional.

         Over the Howard Graveyard, the sky was dark. It was the generic atmosphere most often seen in the movies. But in the real situations, it trampled the spirits of all of those in the attendance. It took what little strength the gathering had and stripped it away.

         "...And as we lay Matt to rest, we still continue to pray for him and his family..." The pastor stood above the coffin, which awaited it's lowering into the six foot grave. It was the sealing process of Matt's body.

         As Zero heard the pastor speak about Matt's family, the sickening in his stomach turned. He looked around at the people who stood before the grave. There was no family in attendance. Matt's parents had not even shown up. It was their own son's funeral and they still wouldn't show up to see him once more, just one last time. It was a tragedy, Zero thought to himself.

         Erica stood beside Zero. She had latched onto Zero's arm, holding onto it for support. She had suppressed the tears at that moment, but for the previous two days, her whole life had been in crying. First it was the sudden trauma of losing Matt. Words could not express what her reaction was to the news that Zero had told her. Insane could be a good start for descriptions, but that was just the outer brim of her reaction. Then, it was the thoughts back to the child that she held inside of her... Matt's child. It was to be a bastardized child, one to grow up without a father.

         The two stood, dressed in the formal black attire. Around them stood Matt's coworkers, people stemming back to his high school years, plus those who had known Matt through the interaction around the Gilman apartments. There was no family, but the friends had shown their support and grievances towards the young man.

         The pastor continued the sermon that stated the fulfillment of the life and death term that everyone must go through in life.

         The alcohol found had been a hard fact for both Zero and Erica to get through. Tests that had been ran on Matt's blood shown high alcohol levels. Levels that were seriously past the line of impairment on people who drank. It was the fact that Matt had driven with those conditions, which had caused the greatest emptiness as to what shape and mental state he was in before the wreck.

         Sniffles could be heard throughout the group. Erica had stopped for the moment, but her grasp onto Zero's arm gave her the courage to try and work through it. She hadn't even told her father about the child. Fear was all around her. Fear, depression... and loneliness.

         The front of the casket was open. Zero could see Matt inside of it. The work on his body had been made to give the appearance of life, but there was no life left in him. Matt was alive. Matt was not the figment of the person who lay inside of the casket. Zero pulled his eyes back. He couldn't dwell on the sight.

         The pastor concluded his sermon. A final prayer was said over Matt. And then, with the positioning of the ushers, they closed Matt's casket and set it into position to be lowered into the grave.

         As it was lowered, Erica's face dug into Zero's shoulder. The tears fell through, sobbing the sleeve of his jacket. She sniffled and tried to stop, but she cried out in loss. She couldn't contain herself, nor did she even want to. She had just lost the man who she loved. The tears were but just a shallow visual of the ocean of grief that her body was experiencing.

         Zero put his hand on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her in her time of need. It was all that he could do. His time of needing would never come. His place was to be the comforter. In this case, Erica was the one who relied on him for the support. For then, and for the future, that was what he intended to have for her.

         As Zero watched the casket slowly lower into the grave, the support that he embodied was not only for Erica... it was for him, as well.