Let them all see, then. Let everyone witness how Elizabeth entered the cemetery, how she was laid to rest, and how everyone finally accepted that she truly was Kendrick’s wife.
At the top of the hill, the group gathered before Kendrick’s gravestone.
Soren led the mourners, bowing his head in salute to Kendrick. Like Elizabeth, he was a hero.
Tarquin cradled Elizabeth’s urn in his arms, staring at the photo of the handsome man on the headstone. He spoke softly, his voice low and steady, but with a tremor that betrayed his emotion.
“Dad, I brought Mom home.”
A gentle breeze swept through the crowd, drying the tears from their eyes. There wasn’t a dry eye to be found.
After all their struggles, these two star-crossed lovers were finally reunited.
At exactly ten in the morning—the appointed hour—it was time.
Open the casket.
Kendrick had died young, and had a traditional burial.
His grave wasn’t one of those tiny plots you see nowadays. The coffin was old-fashioned, big enough to fit a full-grown man.
The grave had already been dug up that morning, and the solid oak coffin lay exposed.
They opened the casket. The lid creaked as it came off.
The women in the family broke down in tears.
Inside, there was no body—just an urn containing Kendrick’s ashes, along with a few of his personal belongings.
Years ago, Kendrick and Elizabeth had died overseas. Their bodies had been cremated abroad and brought back home.
Still, the Bradford family insisted on following the old burial customs, almost as if the bodies were intact.
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