Short Story

The Cruelest Joke

The Sicilian Storyteller

Written for The Unicorn Challenge, where we are asked
to write something creative in 250 words or less
by using the photo below for inspiration.
This is my story.

© Ayr/Gray

The moment we stepped out of our car, the temperature felt like it dropped twenty degrees and a cold wind whipped my black-stockinged legs. We cringed at the frigid slap in the face and huddled deeper into our jackets as we climbed the steps to the church.

We found the seats reserved for us 
. second pew directly off the center aisle. I clutched my husband’s hand and felt his body quiver as he raggedly exhaled, desperately trying not to cry. The tears would come, but on his terms.

The pews on both sides of the church were filled with people celebrating a life and mourning a loss. Everything leading to this moment had been a maelstrom of emotions; there are very few things that shake us to our core like a sudden death.

A man appeared at our pew; I recognized him as the manager of the funeral home. He spoke softly to my husband and together they started to walk to the back of the church. I looked up at my husband’s face and he gave me a sad smile.

There was a heavy silence in the church, mourners sitting side-by-side lost in a fog of grief. Had someone played us the cruelest joke?

As one, the pallbearers heaved the casket onto their shoulders and the organ began to play. That’s when I saw my husband walking behind his brother’s coffin, our widowed sister-in-law on his arm, and there were tears.

Now we will try to move forward.

NAR©2024
250 Words

The Unicorn Challenge-12/04/24

This is Al Green with “How Can You Mend A Broken Heart”

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk and The Rhythm Section and is not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.

42 thoughts on “The Cruelest Joke”

  5. Beautiful. Tears ‘on his terms’ – it has to be so. Al Green’s version of the song is a really moving one. I hadn’t heard it before. There’s comfort in sad songs. Hang in there – one step at a time.

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    1. Thank you, dear Margaret. My Bill is not one to wear his heart on his sleeve. This is the steepest climb for him and I’m right there to hold his hand. He’s doing well.

      I only knew the Bee Gees version of this song. As I told my friend Dorothy, this Al Green number was one of those gifts in grief. When that organ kicked in, it was like being in church.

      We are hanging in and moving forward, thank you.

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    1. Writing has been a tremendous outlet for me as well as for Bill. It has helped us grieve in a way I never experienced before. I am so grateful to my friends, my readers, for their patient understanding. I am amazed at the outpouring of sympathy and comfort. Now it’s time to move forward.
      Thank you, dear Clive. ♡

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  15. Oh Nancy–this had me puddling up. These poems “in the grieving” are a beautiful honor to him. The language you write with is so elegant and eloquent. And the title is so apt. Sending more love and prayers.

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