Rain poured heavily from the darken heavens. Lightning flashed above the many black umbrellas., casting a ghostly ray of light on everyone. Thunder shook the muddy and wet grounds that they were standing on. The atmosphere was grave and so tense. Diminished sounds of crying and mourning could be heard over the sound of the raindrops falling onto the ground. Even though, the heavy rain took away nearly fifty percent of the visibility, nevertheless, the faces of those crying over their loved ones could be seen distinctively.
I looked around sadly. Death was a part of everyday life. Death must happen in order to keep the world balanced. Life and death must be equal. I saw a black hearse parked by the side of the cemetery and I saw that whoever the poor soul who died was, he or she must have had a big family or either, a famous person. I could hear and see the Roman Catholic priest praying together with those who attended the funeral.
Queerly though, I couldn't locate where the coffin was. Unless they had lowered it down into the six-foot deep grave that was already dug, I thought. But that was literally impossible because a coffin was only lowered at the end of the funeral, after the priest was done with the praying and readings. There must be some logical explanation why the coffin wasn't present. The sight of a coffin-less funeral was almost...macabre...I shivered, not because of the cold but because of the sight of the coffin-less funeral. No matter how macabre it was, I still had to pay respect at a funeral and not have all these improper thoughts. How offensive this would have been if the dead could actually read my thoughts. I laughed inwardly and continued to wonder where could the coffin be.
I began to let my mind wonder. What would it be like to be dead? To be able to leave this world and travel to another? Would it be like...starting a whole new life? Was there really life after death? Was there really eternal life? I slapped myself mentally at my doubt against eternal life. Who was I trying to kid? Hello! I'm a Roman Catholic, I believe in eternal life and life after death! How could I actually doubt my faith in eternal life and life after death with God in his kingdom! I slapped myself mentally again and made a reminder not to doubt my faith ever again.
Out of the blues, I realized something and it hit me like a ton of bricks. I wasn't standing up, neither was I sitting down but I was lying down. I was puzzled and almost interested why was I lying down on muddy grounds. That was when I realized that I was lying in something soft and it had a silky texture. I nearly screamed out loud. I was lying in a twenty thousand-dollar coffin lined with the finest silks. I could still see the sky because the lid wasn't closed yet. They are burying me alive! The thought crossed my head. I tried to scream but I couldn't and I couldn't even move any part of my body. Then, I felt a sharp and burning white-hot pain in my side and I winced in pain. I was frustrated and angry, who dares to drug me and try to bury me alive! Of all the nerve this psycho had! I tried to scream again but all I could manage was a barely audible whisper. I bet the ants couldn't even hear me let alone those fools who actually fell for the thought that I was dead can hear me. Then my sister's favorite sentence came into my head, "Dead people don't talk so shut up and act like one." When I remembered her words, I don't know whether to laugh or to cry or to scream.
"—may Evelyn rest in peace forever," those were the last words from the priest, indicating that it was time for me to be buried. They closed the lid of my coffin and that was the last time I ever saw the world anymore.
I groaned inwardly, I'm going to be buried alive??? I can't believe this. Then I felt a jolt of sadness, at least I know the feeling to be 'so-call' dead. I'll never see my parents again, my sister again or my friends anymore. This was starting to get plain ridiculous again. I tried screaming while they began to lower my coffin into the six-foot deep grave. At least this coffin is pretty comfortable, I found myself thinking then I slapped myself mentally again. Fool! What do you mean by at least this coffin is pretty comfortable! I thought sarcastically as my coffin hit the muddy bottom of the grave with a thud and a bump.
They began to shovel mounts of dirt onto my coffin. I could hear every single thud when the dirt hit the lid of my coffin. It's going to be a long wait down here, I thought irritably, counting every single thud. Perhaps the thud worked like the so-call theory of counting sheep make you sleepy. I started to feel my eyelids go heavy and I started to feel drowsy, before I last knew it, I was literally asleep.
When I woke up. I started to feel panic rising into my chest again. Then I blinked, it was bright and everything was this bright white light. I was confused, why is it bright now? Shouldn't it be dark like it was six feet under? Then, I slowly registered something in my mind, maybe the whole being-buried-alive-thing was just another absurd dream. While I was busy pondering, a voice called out to me.
"Welcome home Evelyn," the voice echoed.
I whirled around and saw nothing but bright, white light everywhere. I squinted at tried to search for the direction of the voice. I can move...I realized and then felt faint, what's going on now!
"I'm just being inquisitive," I voiced up uncertainly then I continued what I wanted to say, "am I dead? Or is this some sort of, uh...dream?"
"It's no dream. You are dead," the voice confirmed the worst on my mind.
"How did that happen to me?" I questioned curiously. "I thought I was drugged and buried alive," I muttered under my breath and then regretted saying that almost immediately.
"You were not drugged neither were you buried alive," the voice said and gave something that I was pretty certain, it was a laugh. "You were killed in a plane crash from during your flight back from Moscow."
I nodded, my mouth hanging open. I was standing here, listening to my own death story, I was very, very interested. "So that explains the burning white-hot pain in my side, was I impaled by anything?" I subconsciously rubbed my side, trying to feel for a hole or a scar or any wound.
"By a three-foot long piece of metal," the voice replied.
"Ouch, must have hurt lots," I winced and gingerly massaged my side.
"And you lost a great amount of blood and to the result of that, you died."
"Ah, ooh," came my reply.
"Any further questions?"
"No."
"Very, well, you should take a rest. And before that, that was very nice of you to do all those charity work in Moscow."
"Why, thank you!"
Then, everything became dark again but this time I wasn't afraid. I felt calm and at peace. It was all so tranquil and I fell back to sleep, eternal rest...
Gabrielle Jee
PS: This was my very first essay in Form 1. Although, this is the modified version but it's pretty similar. Too bad Mr. Tan never gave back my essay. The original one was entitled 'A Dream', so the original one ended with an 'it's-just-a-dream-and-nothing-more-than-that' sort of ending. I kind of prefer this version rather than the original one.
"Dead people don't talk, so shut up and act like one."
My sister used to tell me all the time,
Whenever I would get her mad,
It was her very favorite line that I would mime,
"Dead people don't talk, so shut up and act like one."
That is what she would tell me,
I used to laugh when I heard it,
Now I'm dead and I remember her telling me,
I just don't know whether to laugh or cry.
So much for being dead,
I have to shut up and act like one,
I never even had to chance to see her wed,
Not even an invitation though I was her number one.
I miss everyone down there,
But don't you ever cry for me,
I want to see you happy there,
Even though there'll never ever be another 'we'.
But I still want you to remember us,
Don't you ever worry,
You'll never ever have to say these words,
"Dead people don't talk, so shut up and act like one!"