Chapter 20: The Second Funeral
We returned to Whispering Pines Cemetery at sunrise. No cameras, no crowds—just us, Marta, the priest, and two trusted gravediggers.
They carefully opened the grave and moved the coffin to a quiet plot under an old oak tree. We placed a simple stone there: Unknown. Gone too soon. Remembered.
Lucas laid a single white rose on top. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I never wanted this for you.”
Jude placed one beside it. “Rest easy now. No one will ever use you again.”
When they filled the hole for the last time, no one rushed. No one lied. We stood there until the last clump of dirt was smoothed flat.
On the way out, Ethan stopped at Lucas’s empty headstone. “Can we change it?”
“Change what?” Lucas asked.
“Add Uncle Jude’s name too,” Ethan said. “We’re family now. All of us.”
