Inappropriate Laughter

As dawn arrived, the sound of my annoying alarm clock awoke me. It was only 5a.m in the morning, but I had an important event to go to, and it definitely would not be appropriate to be late. I slugged myself to the bathroom, getting myself showered and dressed up. I clothed up in my entire black outfit, avoiding the bright colors that would be offensive.

Shaking my mum awake, I got her to send me to the block where the funeral was to be held. I sighted my friends sitting at a corner, and proceeded to join them. Everybody was very whispering among one another, not daring to make a loud noise. Even when I pulled out the chair, I tried to make it as soundless as possible, trying to avoid any attention. My friends silently greeted me by nodding their heads. It was kind of awkward, as we could not chit-chat as we normally did. So basically, we were just staring at each other, passing the time.

Soon, two people whom I recognized as my friend's parents passed by our table. I stood up, greeted them, and offered my condolences. They mumbled a word of thanks, and walked away. The sadness in their eyes kept on lingering in my mind. It was such a pity, them losing Darrel at this age. Sometimes, I start thinking whether it is my fault for Darrel's death. After all, I was the one who suggested the clique outing. Little did I know, Darrel would meet die in a hit-and-run accident on his way to meet us. Us rushing him for being late did not help either. I sat down again, and the tears started to flow out of nowhere. My friends could seemingly read through my mind, and they all offered their words of comfort to me.

Just then, a group of monks appeared. The rituals were starting soon I guess. I was a firm believer in another religion, so whenever I saw monks performing a ritual at a funeral, I found it comically ridiculous. Right then, the monks sat down and began chanting. The parents and siblings of Darrel began walking around the coffin of Darrel.

As all the monks sat...