Stone for an Empty Grave

Contributor: Jade Kolbo

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The service was nice. An old man with a wrinkled tie had read the eulogy. In the front of the tiny chapel, old ladies had patted their eyes with handkerchiefs, careful not to mess up that cheap red lipstick and blue eye shadow. Most people paying their respects had left their children at home, much to the relief of the grieving family who had ached for some peace. There had been no coffin or urn in front of the altar. They had to go without saying their goodbyes to something they could physically see.

Mutterings of the latest news in the investigation had circulated throughout the dim room by the end of the service. Some people had made comments saying that the family should have waited for the body to be found before planning a major service. Others had mentioned that the family needed some kind of closure and had every right. A select number of people had said at least some of the family members must have been the ones responsible since no other suspects had been found.

The grief-stricken family seemed like they had tried to ignore any gossip that had been making its way throughout the room. The father had tapped his foot in a clear state of agitation. The mother had held on to the sobbing kids. At the end of the service they had revealed the headstone that would mark the empty grave. "He doesn't lie here, but we loved him anyway."


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Jade Kolbo studies Journalism at Concordia University, St. Paul.
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