บท 30: Funeral
Austria, December 26th 1791
11:32 AM
Father Schmidt, the one who had baptized Lukas, was in the church. He was kneeling in front of the image of Jesus Christ and praying.
After a while, he stood up and bowed before it. He turned back and, for his surprise, he saw a blonde boy sitting on one of the church pews.
He raised his brow and decided to approach him. 'Perhaps he wants some food?' the priest wondered.
Only when Father Schmidt walked closer to the boy did he notice that the one who was sitting there was Lukas. 'My eyesight is no longer what it was,' the priest thought.
Lukas and his mother came to the church at least every week, so he knew the boy well.
Father Schmidt showed a sad expression. He naturally had already received the news about Frida and he was deeply hurt by them. He knew Frida ever since her birth. Father Schmidt had baptized her and her sister himself.
"Lukas. I see you came a little earlier than appointed. What brings you here? Do you wish to see your mother before anyone else arrives?" the priest asked.
Lukas had told Father Schmidt to call him just Lukas when they were alone. Just like he did with Olivia.
Lukas was sitting with the elbows resting on his knees and with his fingers intertwined. He was looking down on the floor and seemed thoughtful.
Lukas waited a bit to answer the priest. Soon, he decided to speak. "She's going to hell, isn't she, Father? My mother?"
Lukas was not a religious boy, however, it still pissed him off everytime he thought that his mother was going to hell. Even if he didn't believe it at all.
The priest looked taken aback by Lukas's question. He was thinking about a way to tell this to Lukas.
"No need to spare me from the harsh truth, Father. Please, I wanna know your real opinion," Lukas said.
The priest sighed. "God's forgiveness is supreme. Your mother has done a lot of good things to a lot of people..."
"That's not my question, Father," Lukas insisted.
The priest seemed hesitant to answer the boy. He hummed for a bit and then he finally answered. "Considering the circumstances of your mother's death, Lukas... I'm afraid that's the most likely fate."
"...I see."
The silence perpetuated in the church. After a while, Lukas, who was looking down at the floor during the whole conversation, finally looked up at Father Schmidt's face.
"Father, I... what's the purpose of hell?"
The priest raised his brow. "Well, hell is a place of total separation from the blessings of God. It's basically a punishment for the whole eternity."
Lukas sighed. "I don't understand it, Father. If God created all of us... not just all of us, but everything... why would he punish us for something that God himself created?" the blonde boy asked.
The priest showed a slight smile. "You are not very religious, are you, boy?"
"Just hope I'll not be burned alive," Lukas said.
Although it was a rather harsh joke, the priest laughed at it. So he sat beside Lukas. "I never supported the acts of the Inquisition by the Church," Father Schmidt said.
"Well, I guess I already knew that. You don't look like someone who supports things like that," Lukas answered.
The priest chuckled. "I'm flattered to hear that, Lukas." Father Schmidt made a short break and finally decided to answer Lukas's question. "Sin was not created by God, Lukas. It was created by an act of rebellion against Him," the priest started.
Lukas just waited for the priest to continue. "We are all rebelling against God... all the time. That's normal, that's what makes us humans. What makes us go to hell is the total unfaithfulness to our creator."
Lukas nodded his head. "I see."
Father Schmidt looked at Lukas with a smile. "Are you afraid of hell, Lukas?" he asked.
Lukas made a short break and then shook his head. "No," he honestly answered.
Lukas leaned back on the pew and sighed. "Somehow, talking to you made me calm down quite a bit."
The priest chuckled. "I am glad to hear that." he said. "It's the power of Church. Have you ever noticed? Even the fiercest atheist speaks with a lower tone inside the house of God."
Lukas nodded his head. 'Actually, it's true. That's a matter of habit.'
Father Schmidt seemed to remember something. "Oh! I almost forgot!" he said as he looked for something in his pocket.
Lukas raised his brow as he waited for the priest. Finally, Father Schmidt took a necklace out of his pocket.
"Mrs. Von Neumann gave it to me before she died. She said that if something happened to her, this would give you strength to keep going."
The necklace was simple. It seemed to be made of leather and had a small, light-green gem hanging on it.
The priest handed it to Lukas and the blonde boy watched it curiously. "Huh... thank you, Father. Really... was it really my mother who gave you this?" he asked.
Father Schmidt nodded his head. "I swear to God."
Lukas showed a sad smile. "O-Oh... t-thanks..." he said. After that, a tear started streaming down his face.
Lukas quickly pulled himself together and sighed deeply. Then, he showed a smile.
Father Schmidt just smiled and slightly nodded his head. "You are welcome, Lukas."
Lukas and Father Schmidt spent the rest of the time before the funeral talking in the church.
-----
Austria, December 26th 1791
12:20 PM
There was a huge crowd outside of the church. Everyone was completely dressed with black clothes.
Lukas was standing with nobody in particular around him. No servants were allowed in the funeral and he decided not to stay beside Elias for obvious reasons.
For some reason, although he felt better now thanks to the chat he had with the priest, he felt quite bad. Perhaps due to the environment.
'I just want this to end,' Lukas thought.
Lukas sighed deeply. 'I will not allow myself to cry in front of everyone here. I gotta keep my composure.'
Soon, Lukas heard a feminine voice calling him. "Lukas!"
When the blonde boy looked, he saw a blonde girl running towards him. After she reached him, she hugged him.
"Violett?" Lukas asked with a low voice.
Violett nodded her head while still hugging him. "Yes. Did you really think I wouldn't be coming?"
After a while, Violett finally pulled away from Lukas. She seemed worried.
'She smells kinda good,' Lukas thought.
Soon, Tobias approached the both of them.
"Violett, I told you not to run," he calmly said.
Violett blushed slightly. "S-Sorry, daddy. I-I was just trying to make Lukas feel better... we are engaged, after all," she said.
Tobias nodded his head. "That's fine, Violett," he said.
Violett seemed to be happy with her father's agreement. After that, she turned back to Lukas and held his hand.
"Lukas... how do you feel?" she asked with a sad face.
Lukas looked down. "Well... I can't say I feel properly good, right?" he said.
Violett nodded her head. "I understand..."
Tobias stepped up and kneeled in front of Lukas. "In case you need anything, don't hesitate to call us. We are family."
Violett nodded her head in agreement.
Lukas, on the other hand, didn't look very convinced with Tobias's words. 'I don't think you are that reliable,' he thought.
Still, Lukas nodded his head. "Of course, thank you so much."
Soon, Elias approached the three of them. "Thank you for coming. Tobias, Violett."
Lukas didn't even look at Elias's face. On the other hand, Tobias decided to taunt him a bit.
Tobias showed a smirk. "Well, I don't see your little brother around. Hasn't he even come to your wife's funeral?"
Elias just clenched his fist and kept a normal expression. He sighed deeply. "Well, he's already grown up. It's not up to me whether or not he's coming."
Tobias seemed a bit upset for Elias not having fallen for his taunting.
On the other hand, Lukas was not happy with Tobias's comment at all. "Uncle Tobias, this is not the time to taunt people whom you have personal problems with. The only children here are me and Violett. Please, make sure to behave like an adult," he said.
Tobias had to clench his fist with all his strength in order to control his anger. "I am truly sorry, Lukas. You are totally right."
On the other hand, Elias couldn't be prouder of Lukas. Tobias has always pissed off Elias a lot, so Lukas's words were totally pleasant to him.
Soon, Frida's coffin could be seen being brought by a few servants. They were the only ones who were allowed in the funeral.
For some reason, that really touched Lukas's heart, he started to feel anguish inside his chest and his throat started getting tight. 'Damn it... not now.'
Violett noticed that Lukas was feeling unwell, but she had no time to say anything, since Lukas spoke first.
The blonde boy turned to the three of them. "F-Father, I'm going to take a leak, okay? Be right back," Lukas said.
Elias found it strange. 'He is not being rude to me... he is not feeling good.'
Then, Lukas just walked calmly towards the forest. After he was distant enough from the crowd, he darted into the forest.
Tears flew out of his eyes as he ran and Lukas desperately tried to wipe them out. 'W-Why?! Why does this pain keep coming?!'
Lukas kept running and closed his eyes with all his strength. Not long after, Lukas hit hard against a tree.
The blonde boy immediately fell backwards on the ground. "Ouch!" Lukas complained.
Lukas slowly sat up and let out a shout with all his strength. When he finished venting all his pain out, he started panting.
Lukas finally stood back up and brushed his clothes off. After that, he leaned his head against the tree.
After a while, Lukas heard Violett's voice. "Lukas! Where are you?!"
Lukas sighed. 'God damn! How did she find me?! ...Oh, of course, I shouted like a retarded back then,' he thought.
'Well, I can't let her get lost in the forest. I'll just pretend that nothing happened and take her back to the funeral.'
"I'm here!" Lukas said loud enough for Violett to hear.
Soon, she could be seen walking quickly towards him. "What are you doing here?" Lukas asked.
"Huh... I heard you screaming..." Violett said shyly.
Lukas sighed. 'Of course she did.' he thought. "Yes, Violett. I don't feel good, I thought you had heard what I said."
"I could tell you the same thing!" Violett said.
Lukas tilted his head in confusion.
"Didn't I tell you that you could call me if you needed anything?!" Violett asked.
'It was not you, though,' Lukas thought.
"You don't need to suffer alone, Lukas! I know what you are going through because..." tears started forming in the corner of her eyes. "...my mother is also sick and it doesn't seem she'll get better,"
Violett said.
Lukas looked taken aback by Violett's statement. 'It's true... somehow... she understands me.
Perhaps it's even more painful for her because her mother is dying slowly...' he thought.
Violett wiped out her tears and showed a smile. "You can trust me, Lukas. You can cry on my shoulder!" she said.
'Perhaps she's more mature than I thought...' Lukas thought. Soon, he noticed that tears were streaming down his face.
Violett kneeled down on the ground with a smile and started patting her lap. As if being controlled by someone else, Lukas placed his head on Violett's lap and started crying his eyes out as she patted her head.
-----
Even though Violett and Lukas were not there, the funeral kept advancing as it should.
Tobias and Elias were standing beside each other without saying anything. Finally, Tobias decided to speak. "Curious, isn't it?" he asked to Elias.
Elias raised his brow. "What do you mean?" he asked.
Tobias smiled. "Nature called both our children at the same time."
"You know children their age can't control themselves as we do," Elias answered.
Tobias didn't answer, instead, he just looked at his left side and pointed that way. Finally, Tobias spoke up. "Look with your own eyes then," he said.
When Elias looked, he saw Violett and Lukas coming back to the funeral with smiles on their faces and holding each other's hands.
Violett looked at Lukas. "I saw you were wearing a necklace. You didn't have it before, did you?" she asked.
Lukas nodded his head. "Yes. It was my mother's." he answered. 'Even though it is still too long. It almost reaches my bellybutton.'
Soon, the both of them went to meet their parents. "Right on time to listen to someone's speech," Tobias said.
"Does anyone here wish to say their last words?" Father Schmidt asked, however nobody answered.
"...Well, forget it," Tobias said.
'Stopping to think about it... where's the head of the Von Neumann house? Has he really not come to his daughter's funeral?!' Lukas wondered.
Suddenly, the blonde boy raised his hand. "I do!" he said. His expression was showing a confident smile.
The people in the crowd started whispering and gossiping to each other. There were even some people frowning at Lukas.
Father Schmidt looked taken aback, but he still accepted. "F-Fine. Please, come here."
Lukas stood in front of the crowd and sighed deeply. Finally, he started his speech.
"My mother... wasn't a perfect person. However, I can say this for sure: I loved her! I truly did! With all my heart!" he started.
For Lukas, this was more like a farewell to Frida, so he didn't really care about the reaction of the crowd.
"She thought she was not a good mother, however, I can say for sure: I would never replace her! Even if I were to watch her death one hundred more times!" a tear started streaming down his face.
"And I swear! I'll never forget her! No matter if I live thousands of years!" Lukas raised his head high up "Mother..." he took a deep breath and then screamed at the top of his lungs. "...I LOVE YOU!!!"
Meanwhile, Elias was dumbfounded with Lukas's speech. 'I-IS HE AN IDIOT?!' he screamed internally.
On the other hand, other people were crying. But if the crowd in the beginning was gossiping, right now, it was deeply silent.
So, Lukas walked away and went back to the place where he previously was. When he arrived there, he noticed that Violett was bewitched with Lukas's speech. "Lukas... you are so brave!"
"Huh... thank you," he said, hesitatingly. 'Nobody applauded though. It was a crappy speech, anyway,' Lukas thought.
Soon, Frida's coffin was buried and the people slowly started going away.
For Lukas's surprise, he saw a familiar face coming to him. "Lukas, it's been a while," the man said.
Lukas raised his brow. "Do I know you?"
The man chuckled. "Of course, you must not remember me," the man said.
'I actually do,' Lukas thought. 'Mikel Tonsburg.'
"I'm Mikel Tonsburg he said, pointing at himself. I met you when you were just a baby. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my sons here because I thought it was not appropriate for them," Mikel said.
Lukas nodded his head in agreement. "I see. I've heard about the Tonsburg house. It has a partnership with the Von Neumann house, right?" he asked.
Mikel nodded his head. "I'm impressed that you know it. And if you allow me, your speech was quite good too," the man said.
"Thank you."
Mikel showed a sad expression. "It was quite a shock when I heard about Frida's death... not to mention its circumstances. If you need anything, please, just tell me," he said.
Lukas just nodded his head in appreciation and Mikel walked away.
ของขวัญ
-- ได้รับของขวัญแล้ว สถานะพลังงานรายสัปดาห์
-- การจัดอันดับด้วยพลัง 
-- หินพลัง