I didn't know my uncle too well. Which I guess is why I couldn't shed a single tear at his funeral. I had only seen him for a few occasions in my life, most of them was when I was six. He seemed like a nice guy, but even back then, I could see something...different in his eyes. I just didn't know what it was.
When I was fifteen, I could clearly see that loneliness had consumed him. Which eventually lead my uncle to taking his own life. Alive one day, gone the next. Nothing but a pale face and an empty bottle of pills lying on the floor of his living room was found
My dad says it was because of the divorce, but my mom persisted that it was because neither she nor the rest of my uncle's relatives ever cared to check on him for years. Almost like he didn't exist. I felt guilty myself...but I knew that there was nothing I could do.
She would go and visit her brother's grave every chance she got. Often bringing flowers and candles to pray for his peaceful passing to whatever was waiting for him. I had to join her after school most of the time. I didn't know if I liked going to the cemetery every day, but I respected my mother for trying to make amends over past mistakes.
At least enough to ignore everyone that called me the "Cemetery Girl". After a week or so however, I did see someone who'd better fit the role...
One sunny afternoon, I spotted someone by the gravestones. I didn't know what she was doing at first, but already, she was giving me an odd first impression. Mostly because of the long stuffed and striped rabbit ears on the hood of her jacket. I never did get how fashion worked, but I knew something like that wouldn't slide easily.
I didn't pay her much attention until the following week later. She was a lot closer to us now, and I could clearly see what she was doing. Beside the tombstone, she was placing her head down on the ground to one side, as if listening for something. she didn't care if the graves had concrete slabs or simply bare dirt.
I got a better look of her, clearly seeing that the rabbit ears were just one part of her surreal wardrobe. Her jacket bore the same pink and white stripes and I noticed the over-sized green button in between the two ears, almost looking like an eye of a doll. I could clearly see a happy smile lining up on her face, like she was enjoying whatever it was she was doing.
I tried not to think too much of her, but as time went on and she got closer and closer, I couldn't help but notice her presence every time we visited.
One day, I decided to talk to her myself.
"Hey mom, can I...go look around the place for a bit?" I asked, not really sure if I should mention the odd girl or not, even though I knew she had been seeing her as well.
She made a weird face. "Okay, just...don't do anything stupid. And don't go too far" she told me. I nodded and headed off.
When I got up to the weird girl, she still had one ear on the ground. She took notice of me and immediately stood up. "Hi there!" she said gleefully, throwing her arm up in the air.
"Yeah...hi" I replied, giving her a wave less than half of her enthusiasm.
There was a brief moment of silence between us, an uneasy feeling washing over me as the awkwardness had settled in...
"So...what are you doing here, exactly?" I finally managed to ask.
"Oh, nothing special. Just listening in. It can be pretty boring sometimes, but it is fun when you hear them!"
I was confused to what she had just said. "Hear who...?"
She knelt down on the ground again, motioning for me to do the same. I hesitated...but eventually I did. I felt the soil soak through my jeans, making it even more uncomfortable to move.
Her ear was pressed against the ground of a "Wilbur Whately Sr." The look on her face kept changing; from bored to looking like she was really close to bursting out laughing.
And she eventually did, raising her head in the process.
"Hahaha! Sorry, don't think you'd wanna hear this" she stated. I did not understand her at all, and I was beginning to think that it might've been a bad idea approaching her. She stood up again, dusting off her skirt. "Come on! I know a better place for you to start!"
"I...I don't know..." I said, standing up myself. "I'm not supposed to wander around too much"
"It ain't that far, I can promise you that. Right about..." she spun around, putting her hand above her eyes, almost like a sailor. "There!" she pointed to another grave. True to her word, it didn't seem too far from us.
"...If you say so"
She lead the way, passing by three different rows of concrete slabs with the names of the deceased etched on the headstones beside them, and moving on to the one at the far left corner of our block.
I looked at the tombstone that stood beside me. The name was slowly fading away, "Mitchell" being the only thing I could clearly make out of it. "Mitch here can be a real wallflower, but when he starts talking, you won't believe how cooky his stories can be!" she remarked before kneeling down.
I did the same right as she bent her head down on the concrete slab. She listened in for about half a minute, before sitting back up right with a giggle. "Yup! That's Mitch all right! Okay, it's a little tricky at first, but it'll be worth it! Trust me!"
"Sure, what should I do exactly?"
"Get your good ear out and listen! Oh, and uh...make sure there isn't anything that can...you know, crawl into your ear and stuff. Believe me, you do NOT want that"
Staring down at the concrete, I asked myself...Was I really going to do this? Listen in on someone's grave for some currently unknown reason?
And then there was that one question... What was I going to hear if I did?
I slowly lowered my head and stayed like that for a few minutes, hearing nothing out of the ordinary. "I can't hear anything" I finally said, taking my ear off the slab.
The girl in front of me looked confused. "Maybe give it another try?" she said, tilting her head to one side. I did just that...and still there was nothing.
"It does sound hollow though...but I guess it is a grave after all"
She didn't look upset. More like she was thinking of something that might help. "Maybe you're not using your good ear?" she stated, pointing to my right ear.
I shrugged. "I'll give it a shot, I guess" I wasn't really aiming to find out if there really was anything to hear anymore. It was strange…but I was somewhat enjoying my time with her. She was odd in many different ways, but she was undoubtedly friendly despite me being a complete stranger.
Minutes pass, and still, I heard nothing. I lifted my head up and shook my head. She had a puzzled look on her face, a hint of disappointment mixed in. A kind of face that I've seen a lot from my mother these days.
"Hey, what's your name anyway?" I asked, snapping her out of the trance she was in.
"Oh, I never told you? Sorry! Hehe, guess I got too caught up in the moment..." She stood up on her two feet and extended her hand out. "The name's Amy! Amy Dall!"
I got up myself and shook her hand. "My name's Charlotte, Charlotte Harris"
As soon as I said my name, her face lit up with awe. "Ooh! Ya got a pretty name Charlotte!!"
"Heh, t-thanks..." I wasn't used to hearing compliments. It felt a little embarrassing to hear one out of the blue. "Hey, uh...do you wanna be friends?" I found myself asking.
She looked a little confused at first. "Aren't we already?"
"I mean...I guess so, heh" I said sheepishly.
"Then I'm pleased to have met ya Charlotte!" she held her hand out again, this time with only her thumb raised in the air.
I couldn't help but laugh how silly she was, and yet...I did the same thing myself. "Nice to meet you too!"
"Welp! Might have to call it a day unfortunately" she suddenly stated, turning around and walking away. "I get a little busy at this time of the day. Thanks for talkin' to me Charlotte! I really appreciate your company. Be seein' ya!"
"W-wait!" I said, stopping her in place.
"Hm? What is it?"
"I uh..." I didn't know why I even thought of it. But I did, and eventually I said "Maybe…I could try listening in again?" I pointed my finger down on the grave we were messing with earlier.
A large grin spread across her lips. "Haha! I knew you'd be up for it!!" She walked back towards me and knelt beside the tombstone once again. I did the same on the opposite side, and positioned myself.
I felt a familiar twinge of fear running through my system. Leaving me to ask myself again…Was I really going to do this?
"Weeeeell? Come on and face the music honey! We'll never know if ya hear anything if we don't try!" Amy announced, and she was sadly right…
I doubted that anything different would happen, yet the sense of dread inside me was still there. I placed my two hands on the concrete again. I took in a deep breath, and lowered my head down.
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