The Truth About Raymond Black

(I would love reviews and criticism since this is my first real attempt at a story)

“Look around us, family. This is all who cares, all who have ever been there. This is all who even cared to come today. The only ones who have ever been there.” A frail looking woman in her late fifties stood in front of an open spot in the ground about the size of a hat box. Much like all the people around her, she was dressed only in black, with a hat that had a dark veil that shielded her eyes from the non-existent sun. Today was a day of sorrow, a day of misery. Even the heavens above were weeping for the loss of Raymond Black. Clouds cluttered the skies and the sun only shined down every once in a while as the gods cried their tears of soft rain. “This is the only ones who have mattered, family. We are here not to rejoice the life of my son, but to forgive him and remember the boy he had once been. The boy who used to make us smile. Remember not the troubles he brought us the last two years, remember not the heart aches that he caused. In the last few years, we have grown to hate him. Today is the day we finally open our arms and forgive, to pray that God will forgive him and will give him a chance to make it to heaven.” Her words were filled with anger, her eyes cold.

All that stood around the woman were maybe fifteen people at most. Each one ranging in ages from two to sixty. Each face was angry, each face seemed like no one had wanted to be there. No one cried, except for one. A man in his mid twenties was kneeling on the ground, weeping for his departed brother. His sobs were anything but silent, but no one even reached out to comfort him. His tears were filled with unconditional love for his own brother; something that the family should all have had. It was something that only he had known that had drove him to understand the importance of the man that was lost.

Soft music of sadness played in the background of the funeral service. No one had dared to interrupt the less than respectful service from Raymond's own mother until seven black cars rolled into the area. The speed was slow, and caused the gravel road to crunch under the weight of the tires and cars. Each car would stop along the parameter of the service and doors would open. The Black family started to whisper their curious questions as to what was going on, yet none of them were answered. Confusion grew across the faces as four people exited from each car. Each person was dressed in black and stayed quiet as they joined to the back of the service behind the family.

Even through the interruption of the twenty-eight strangers to the family only service, the woman would continue to speak. “Raymond led a vagabond life. No job, no inspirations, he had no hope for life. Each step was lost deeper and deeper into the darkness until he could not return. His efforts of life were to no avail. However, Raymond can now rest in peace. When we forgive him, we can forget him. We will never end our love for him, but to remove the pain, we must remove him.” It was something she had full heartedly believed, however it was something that one of the strangers had apparently thought otherwise. A man with dark skin, a balding head and dressed in all black who was in his mid forties coughed then forced his way to the front, taking the podium with a nudge to the woman.

“I'm sorry to interrupt this day of sorrow.” The man would say in a husky voice. Reaching out, he adjusted the microphone a little so he could reach it better. “Let me tell you a story of Raymond Black...”