72. GUNSHOTS AND SAFETY

THE FUNERAL SERVICE of Callan’s mother began. The chapel hall was filled will silence with only the sound of the service echoing in the surroundings. Hands intertwined with each other, I leaned onto Callan’s shoulders. I caressed his wrist hoping that would be enough to ease his pain.

We then rode the car to the coast in the next town. There was a beach that Callan’s mother truly loved. Don Thoron announced that his wife would want to be in that exact place for the last time.

It was afternoon when we arrived there. The sun strikes our skin but not so intensely that it hurts. To others, it may just be a normal sunny day. But to the Chevalier and Ravij family, this was one of the saddest days in their life—especially for Callan.

They walked towards the coast, looking below where the waves crushed through the rocks. The wind blew my hair as I kept looking at Callan standing beside his father. He was holding the gold urn. His father lifted the lid and emptied the ashes into the ocean.