The Funeral

This dream started out simply enough. I was in a white dress standing on the landing of my home. At least, I thought it was my home. There was a wheelchair ramp and stairs. The wheelchair ramp was circular, and for some reason, really hot. My husband, some blond man I've never seen before, would hop up and down on the hot spot with a pillow in his hands until the pillow caught fire from the sparks.

People began arriving in the big long hall before the ramp. There were dozens and dozens of people. Some were friends, some celebrities, and some were strangers. They were all dressed in dark colors but nobody looked particularly upset. In fact, I thought there was some sort of party going on.

I walked up and down the hall, greeting people. Finally, I headed up the stairs and into the building. The first room was huge. It was white marble and there were large columns. I could hear music. I moved towards the music and discovered a large auditorium where "Great Big Sea" was playing. There was a crowd of cheering fans. I didn't think this was strange, and kept on moving.

I entered the chapel. It was then I realized that it was a funeral. The room was large and about half full. The casket at the front held my sister, but not as she looks now, as she did before her accident at age 13. A young woman whom I didn't recognize was speaking about Krista, but I could scarcely hear what she was saying because the large, ugly dark haired woman was talking loudly and saying some unpleasant things about the service.

"Who cares?" she asked her companion, loudly.

"I care!" I screamed at her, lunging towards her. My mom and my cousin Melissa appeared out of no where, and pulled me away. "Get out of here! That's my sister you horrible bitch! Get out of here!" I never did see if the woman left because we were at a new part of the service. In the dream, we had a tradition that we would change the deceased from the casual clothes of the service to the 'nice' clothes they would be buried in. Me and Melissa had been chosen to do this.

Carefully, we began to change Krista into a black dress. As we did this, a smile began to form on my sister's lips. I thought I was just seeing things, but it didn't go away, no matter how much I blinked or rubbed my eyes. Just as we finished dressing her, Krista opened her eyes, smiling this sweet, innocent smile. "It's okay," she said softly. "I love you."

I called for my mom, and she rushed over just in time to see Krista close her eyes.

It was then that I woke up, tears pouring down my face. Strangely, it wasn't the fact that I'd dreamed that my sister was dead that had me sobbing. It was the way Krista was smiling at me. She used to smile like that all the time when she was a little girl, and it's a smile I haven't seen since her accident. I was sobbing for a memory.

posted by Lisa at 5:00 PM |