Chapter 8: Strays

Odis tailed me back all the way to the stray house where Taylor waited for us with a group of strays. His sulking had cleared into an uneasy loiter as Taylor's gaze remained somber and serious when he spotted us approaching. With a simple jut of his chin, the strays followed his lead down the dirt road towards my home. A knot in my stomach made itself known with a sickening twist. With everything that had happened since the night before, I had forgotten why I was at the stray house at all. But it would seem I am being liberated from these dark feelings if I chose to remain with them. Live the way I had lived through the night. No worries and countless distractions. Taylor's actions are known to speak loudly of his leadership instead of his words that often hide promises.

Although I dreaded the task, I kept quiet and allowed myself to be led along the familiar road. It already felt like a funeral.

The foreboding image of my constantly dark home had remained the same in my absence. Not a thing was out of place even when I allowed the small group into my home. The purposeful bustle was welcome in the silent rooms. I led the party upstairs to my mother's room and opened the door but dared not step in myself. They all filed past me except for Odis who hung back to keep me company.

"Do you know where she wanted to rest?" his hazel eyes were still guarded, though for different reasons than before.

I gave a nod and took the time to ensure my voice was steady before speaking, "The meadow of flowers. It was her favorite place to be in the spring. Even if the fall will wilt the flowers, I'm sure that is where she will rest the easiest."

Odis went silent as we listened to the shuffling inside the room. Taylor had gone inside to ensure things went smoothly. Sometime later, Taylor emerged from the dark room with the strays carrying a neat bundle of my mother. Her face had been washed, hair brushed neatly, and they had changed her into a white lace gown. Her face was peaceful and at ease as if slumbering.

The strays carrying my mother went down the stairs, led by Taylor and Odis who whispered to him just out of my hearing range. I assumed it was about where they would take my mother. I closed the door behind us all and followed the purposeful group to the meadow. I had been there just the other day. Already, colors appear dull to me in the light.

Taylor paused before a clear section in the meadow and turned to me expectantly, "I had a feeling that this would be the place."

My mother was delicately set among the wildflowers as the strays took up shovels that were tucked among the tall grasses. They dug a decent resting place, ensuring the grass stayed intact to replace once all was done. As the strays that had accompanied Taylor worked, others turned up from different directions after finishing their tasks for the morning. The hazy air had fully cleared by the time the hole was dug.

Taylor gave silent directions to the strays to lay my mother to her final resting place. Although it was midday, it felt as if evening had come to say goodbye as well. It was darker than usual and the breeze was cool like the night. All the strays stood around my mother's grave and tossed small tokens and mementos as a farewell. Others allowed petals to flutter over her serene form.

No words were said as we stood around this resting place. Any sound was scorned as the dirt was returning to the hole, covering my mother's fair face. She came from the earth, and the earth is the one to reclaim her. The wildflowers would be the flower garden she had always dreamt to tend.

The grass was refitted over the freshly turned dirt, and the strays bled away like shadows in the evening light that had fallen over us. Time had stood still the whole day and finally brought us to the evening that comes to support death. Taylor, Odis, and I were the last to be standing around my mother's grave. My tears are dry from the night before, but the overwhelming feeling of despair threatened to encompass my mind and heart.

A comforting hand found its place resting on my arm, I didn't turn to look. I just leaned into the support they offered.

"Why do all of this. We are friends, but you had no reason to come bury my mother, " my tone wasn't accusatory, just tired and desperate to know any answers to the questions life discarded to me.

There was a brief silence, the comforting hand did not falter as Taylor finally spoke, revealing he was the one offering the physical show of support, "Because, we take care of our own."

His words were all I needed to hear. Clear and certain as was his character. And he claims to have learned such things from me, I mentally scoff. With a nod of acceptance, I turned my back on the sunset that burned a warm orange and the grave that would mark a newer beginning for me. Not many things will change, but so many things have changed for me whether they could be seen on the outside.

The three of us walked back to the stray house, shoulder to shoulder. A bunch of rag tag kids who only had one another. Strays through and through.