Chapter 33: Funeral
<<Francine>>
"Get up, Fancy!"
I shifted in my sleep.
"Fancy! Fancy! Get up!"
"Hmm...let me sleep,"
"You're asking for this, Fancy. I tried to be nice."
All of a sudden, a splash of water hit me, and I woke up with a jolt. My eyes widened to see Charlie in my bedroom, smirking with a bucket in her hand while Jamie and brother stood beside her.
"Morning, princess beautiful." Brother smiled, sitting across me. I shrieked seeing them all together in my room, invading my privacy, and interrupting my beauty sleep. I pulled the blanket closer to my body and just stared at them, dumbfounded.
"Relax, princess. Calm down," Charlie raised her arms in a surrendering manner. "We won't harm you - I'm surprised I'm saying this right now."
Brother laughed. "Oh, Cherie, I truly believe now that history repeats."
I yelled. "What are you guys doing here? 'Tis past midnight!"
Jamie retorted. "We know that."
"Let me rephrase. Would you mind explaining what you three are doing here; barging in my apartment past midnight and scaring the living crap out of me?!"
Charlie chuckled. "You know what- first of all, this," She pointed at the room. "-is still my apartment. Secondly, I really needed that laugh because I've had a horrible day, and I don't have much time here so I'll quickly skip to the main reason."
"Yes, please - but before that, I need to dry up for someone," I glared at Charlie to which she gave me a helpless shrug. "decided to wake me up with a shower."
---
"Okay, so the reason why we're here is to perform the funeral rituals of my father," Charlie admitted softly, her voice cracking slightly at the mention of her father. My heart broke a little when I clearly saw Charlie's face in the light.
The tear trails were less visible now and her hair was in a messy bun- completely different from how she was supposed to be in my place. The white part of her eyes was light red, showing that she occasionally cried and possibly tried to hide that fact. Anyone would cry when they lose their loved ones. Crying was the way to tell how the heart would feel when words weren't enough to describe the pain one was feeling. At first, I was surprised to hear the news because just a few days ago, I had met her father.
He seemed fine.
He seemed great.
"I'm so sorry for your loss, Charlie." I squeezed her shoulder.
She gave me a sad smile. "If you said this a few hours ago, I would've pushed you away and snapped. Let's just say, I'm a lot calmer now."
I argued."It's impossible to stay this calm after you've lost your father, Charlie. You don't always have to be strong - you are allowed to be vulnerable too."
Charlie snickered. "You haven't seen what it's like to be me, Francine. Even if you're playing my role, living in my apartment, entertaining my best friend- you still don't know what it was like growing up as 'Charlie the tomboy'."
"What do you mean?"
Charlie sighed. "Nevermind, this is not important. We just have a few hours before everyone realizes our absence, so let's make this quick."
Brother got up excitedly. "I shall call Nicole,"
"I shall get the car, call you when I am in front of the house," Jamie announced, walking out of the room.
It was just Charlie and me in the living room.
"I'll call the hospital, dress up princess."
---
"Now, Alexander's daughter, Charlie Robinson would like to say a few words,"
Charlie walked up to the make-shift podium, that we made using a few stones that we found in the graveyard. I could understand how Charlie was feeling beneath all that facade. I had been in her shoe when I was a young kid. The year, brother and I lost our mother. I must admit, Charlie was a really strong woman. Where I cried for days on end and starved myself to death, she hadn't shed a tear.
Maybe she did, but she pulled herself up.
That was one trait I admired the most.
The ability to pull oneself on their feet when days are horrible.
There weren't many people present in the graveyard - it was just us, and Nicole who agreed to come as soon as she found out.
Usually, during funerals, one found people who weren't there the entire time and only showed up when the person died. Some relatives shed fake tears and then, some people were filled with guilt.
However, it was just us who were present at the funeral. It was intimate and Charlie was surrounded by those who really cared for her - her friends.
"My father, Alexander Robinson, was a great father and an amazing husband. The kind of person who was not only my father but also my best friend. He and I always went fishing when I was a young child. He taught me how to play soccer and cricket during weekends. He was even there for me when my mother died. Although he was heart-broken himself, he stayed strong for me. He allowed me to shed tears, but then taught me how to get over it. How to get up after life has beaten you down, how to take the sword and start fighting again.
He always used to say, 'Love is the only thing that keeps us alive - that keeps us moving. It's the only thing that gives us the motivation to wake up each morning and deal with the messes, the chaotic life that we all have.' " She chuckled, shaking her head as if she wasn't believing the words she said. "Guess, he just lost his motivation to live!"
She chuckled at her own sad attempt at joking.
No matter, how much Charlie tried to hide her emotions and keep it at the back of her mind, it was clear that she was having a tough time. Even if no one saw it, I could see past through the facade. Call it a doppelganger thing, or blame it on my skills of reading people, I could see through every lie or every act she did.
Jamie stood beside her, keeping his head low and keenly listening to her speech. Nicole stood beside Samuel, desperately trying to stop her tears from rolling down while Samuel stood awkwardly, wondering what to do.
Charlie shifted awkwardly in her place, wondering how to place her hands. If this wasn't a serious occasion, she would've been hilarious to watch. Even after all these months, she couldn't get rid of her weird awkwardness.
Especially, the whole 'where-to-place-her-hands' thing.
After a minute of wondering, she decided to just cross it against her chest to show that she was feeling the chilly wind out here.
"Anyhoo, the point is, at first I didn't realize the depth of his words. I never realized that he'd leave me so soon. I always took him for granted-" She sighed.
"-So, what I'd like to say, everyone here, and I'm sure dad would love to say to you if he was here, is that never take anything for granted. Nothing on this planet lasts forever. Hence, the best thing we can do is live life, take all those chances and risks. Because the feeling of regret is greater than satisfaction."
---
"Hello...Princess Francine?"
"Huh?"
Nicole raised her eyebrow. "Did you hear what I just said?"
Honestly?
No.
I sheepishly admitted. "No...?"
She sighed, poking my forehead. "What is going on in your big head?"
"Ow, nothing!"
She stood up, crossing her arms against her chest.
"Really, princess? You wanna lie to me? You wanna say 'nothing is going inside my head' when everything that has ever happened is playing on repeat? Come on, Liz! You're not Charlie! You don't have to hide things. I'm your friend. I deserve to hear your thoughts."
I sighed. "It's Charlie, I was just surprised how she kept herself together even if her entire body was internally screaming for her to break down. The way she spoke about the memories of her father, without a single crack in her voice, proved how strong she is. If I was in her shoes, I would've locked myself in a room and cry for days on end."
Nicole smiled, proudly. "That's Charlie, Liz -always the tough kid. Throughout the days I've known her, I always admired the fact that she never cried. No matter what hell she had been through, you would never see a tear rolling down her cheeks."
But she cried.
This time.
Her eyes said it all.
She continued. "As you said previously, I was surprised too. This was the first time I noticed the tear trails. Although it had dried, it was still there - proving the amount of time she had spent crying."
So, she did notice.
"How was she when you talked to her?"
She shrugged. "Normal, as if she didn't just go through hell."
My mind brought back one memory of mine. I clearly remembered Charlie saying that she wanted to do this 'swapping' thing for her father. It was the only reason for her to do this. Now that I thought about it, she didn't have a reason anymore.
So, I questioned myself.
Would she still be willing to finish the job?
---
"Francine, they're leaving!" Nicole called out from the living room.
I grabbed my jacket and walked into the living room, watching Charlie and Nicole hug for one last time before they left. Jamie hugged her while brother only awkwardly shook her hand. I sighed, looking at his weirdness around the girl he liked. Everyone in this room knew what they felt for each other - it was they who were reluctant in accepting that.
I exchanged hugs with Charlie, brother, and Jamie.
"Still willing to finish it?" I inquired, hugging Charlie.
Charlie smiled, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"One thing you should know about me, Fancy- is that I never stop quit mid-way."
"Even if you don't have a reason to?"
She smirked, after a long time. "Do you need a reason to help a friend?"
Jamie included. "Besides, you only have one more month to take care of and then, you can go back to your usual lives again."
Charlie and I shared a look.
All these months that I'd been here, I thought it was only me who had a hard time wondering whether I wanted to go back home. Or, would I ever turn back and visit the US. It was like, there was this invisible thread that was wrapped around my ring finger and was always pulling me towards this place.
After all these twenty years, I'd finally found people who really cared for me. Charlie, Nicole, Jeremiah, and of course, brother and Jamie. I was sure, Charlie was slowly getting attached to Titania from the look that we shared. It would be heart-breaking the day we'd swap back.
I'd miss them.
I shook my head. "Absolutely not, Charlie. You do not need a reason to help a friend."
Charlie punched my shoulder. "Smile a little, princess! You only live once."
We all smiled.
"Anyways, we gotta leave...we're already running out of time."
"Yeah, yeah. Let's meet at the end of everything."
Brother smirked. "See you on the other side, Princess Beautiful."
I smirked. "See you on the other side, Prince Charming."
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