Barukh ata Adonai Eloheinu melekh ha'olam, dayan ha-emet.
[Blessed are You, LORD, our God, King of the universe, the True Judge.]
~ traditional Jewish blessing upon receiving news of a passing ~
Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis.
In memoria æterna erit justus, ab auditione mala non timebit.
Absolve, Domine, animas omnium fidelium defunctorum ab omno vinculo delictorum et gratia tua illis succurente mereantur evadere iudicium ultionis, et lucis æterne beatitudine perfrui.
Domine, Jesu Christe, Rex gloriæ, libera animas omnium fidelium defunctorum de pœnis inferni et de profundo lacu. Libera eas de ore leonis, ne absorbeat eas tartarus, ne cadant in obscurum; sed signifer sanctus Michæl repræsentet eas in lucem sanctam, quam olim Abrahæ promisisti et semini ejus.
Hostias et preces tibi, Domine, laudis offerimus; tu suscipe pro animabus illis, quarum hodie memoriam facimus. Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam. Quam olim Abrahæ promisisti et semini ejus.
Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi, dona eis requiem sempiternam.
Lux æterna luceat eis, Domine, cum sanctis tuis in æternum, quia pius es. Requiem æternam dona eis, Domine; et lux perpetua luceat eis.
[Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.
He shall be justified in everlasting memory, and shall not fear evil reports.
Forgive, O Lord, the souls of all the faithful departed from all the chains of their sins and may they deserve to avoid the judgment of revenge by your fostering grace, and enjoy the everlasting blessedness of light.
Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory, free the souls of all the faithful departed from infernal punishment and the deep pit. Free them from the mouth of the lion; do not let Tartarus swallow them, nor let them fall into darkness; but may the sign-bearer, Saint Michael, lead them into the holy light which you promised to Abraham and his seed.
O Lord, we offer you sacrifices and prayers in praise; accept them on behalf of the souls whom we remember today. Make them pass over from death to life, as you promised to Abraham and his seed.
Lamb of God, You take away the sins of the world, grant them rest eternal.
May everlasting light shine upon them, O Lord, with your saints forever, for you are faithful. Grant them eternal rest, O Lord, and may everlasting light shine upon them.]
~ from the Requiem Service ~
Alessandro took a deep breath and held the Processional Cross high, only glancing back once at the processional party behind him before starting his solemn march down the aisle. Behind him were Elizabeth and Johannes, serving as Torch Bearers. Ralf followed with the Paschal Candle, with Florian right after bearing the banner of the Martyrs of the Union.
Following them were, side by side, Rebekah and Anneke, dressed in traditional Clandestinian Mourner's attire--black coats, gray skirts. In their hands they held candles, black because of the nature of the service. And then were the many officers of the Düsseldorf Chapter, dressed in their Mourners uniforms, serving as Pall Bearers--
Among the Bearers for Rebekah's father, Gregorio and Henning;
Rebekah's mother, Andelina and Wolfgang;
Anneke's father, Ingo and Fritz;
Anneke's mother, Faith and Karl.
At a distance the ghostly angel Rinalee kept vigil, watching from a corner near the back of the Church. It returned her memory to her own funeral--she was much too young to die at the hands of the Darkstrom. But this... four souls lost at the hands of Hell's hounds. This was more than she could bear, more than she could comprehend. More than she could fathom as she remembered the night before...
Rebekah sat on the floor, beside the main door of the funeral home, hugging her knees to her chest. Sleep was impossible in situations like this. In merely hours she would have to bid her final fare-wells to her parents. She rested her forehead against her knees, struggling to fight the tears that welled up in her eyes.
Wolfgang had slept on one of the couches in the parlor where her parents' caskets were there. But he opened his eyes knowing the young woman herself was not in the room, and looking around a moment stepped out of the parlor. His gaze fixed to the left, and there she'd sat. Quietly he walked to her and, kneeling down, placed a hand on her knees.
She lifted her head to look at him, rivers of tears falling down her cheeks. Their eyes met, and he realized this was hurting her more than healing. He sat down beside her, took her into his arms, and consoled her in her tears.
As the Processional approached the altar, the caskets were lined up side by side, the Paschal Candle placed in the middle of the solemn row, and all took their proper places at the altar and pews.
Karl held onto Anneke tightly, as he done for so long since the night they returned from Alessandro's adoption festivity. He helped her through all the pain of the past two days, the long hours of the past night. His glance went around to the faces of the entire Düsseldorf Chapter present, to the Priest and Deacon, then to Ralf and Florian with their girlfriends, Alessandro who stood at attention. To Rebekah and Wolfgang, and finally to Anneke. Then his gaze fixed to the Paschal Candle, the symbol of victory over death, and he closed his eyes in the memory of the night's painful vigil...
"Mind if we join you, Becca?"
Rebekah and Wolfgang looked up to see Anneke and Karl, who were unable to sleep as well, and the younger woman nodded in acceptance of further company. Anneke sat beside Rebekah, holding her hand tightly.
"We're all in this together, Reks" Karl whispered as he sat beside his beloved. Rebekah smiled sadly and squeezed Anneke's hand tightly.
"The grief is shared amongst the entire Chapter" Wolfgang said quietly. "They will be present, considering that the parents to be buried gave birth to two of their finest officers among us. They have all found it fitting to stand beside us in a fond, proper and final send-off."
"This... is the darkest hour that we have ever faced" Rebekah finally spoke as she hugged her three friends close to her. "All we have now is each other, so help us... so help us Father above--"
Wolfgang could but only hold her close as she sobbed, the embrace made sweeter through Anneke and Karl. They knew in their hearts, the youngest of the Quartet was right.
Anneke's eyes looked back towards the darkness of the funeral home, the haunting of it all. She hadn't been to a funeral home since the passing of her best friend's parents, she vaguely remembered anything from the vigil. But this...
this truly weakened her more and more, the longer she suffered in its walls.
Elizabeth stood at the pulpit on behalf of the Düsseldorf Chapter, giving a proper eulogy for Rebekah and Anneke's parents, and at its closing gave the two friends a proper Jewish greeting--
המקום ינחם אתכם בתוך שער אבילי ציון וירושלים
Hamakom y'nachem etkhem b'tokh sha'ar avelei tziyon viyrushalayim
Rebekah smiled at Elizabeth sadly, knowing the meaning of the greeting--The Place will comfort you among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem--and how much it meant to her that such a greeting would be said. Through her mother she made many Jewish friends, and while they were not as close as her tightknit Quartet, they shared in the grief of the passing. She glanced to one of her mother's friends, who was a Jew and in the Chapter, and they shared a grateful, knowing smile--that all would be well in the end. That all things began and ended rightly so in God.
The Priest continued with the service, which included the Prayers for the Deceased and Prayers for the Mourners, and then the Passing of the Peace. Then followed the Communion, with the Lord's Prayer. After Communion, Anneke and Rebekah stood up and, hand in hand, approached their respective parents' caskets. Ralf, Johannes and Elizabeth joined them and, taking each a permanent marker, inscribed the following on each casket--
Rebekah: זכר קדוש לברכה [zekher kadosh livrakha], which meant May the memory of the saintly be for blessing
Anneke: To my blessed family, here and in the life to come
Elizabeth: Our family, we grieve, we rise above, we thank God
Johannes: Requiescant in pace [Rest in peace]
Ralf: From the Clandestine Rebellion, the Düsseldorf Chapter, with all our love, honor and respect
Afterwards they were joined by Florian, Wolfgang and Karl and, huddling together, Rebekah led the Mourner's Kaddish, the traditional Hebrew prayer for the deceased, which praised God. Then the huddle turned into a group hug, and just as quickly they dispersed back to their proper places for the final blessing and Procession to the Cemetery.
The iron bells tolled throughout Düsseldorf as the Procession reached the Cemetery. Alessandro stood behind the small grave markers, in the middle, facing the approaching crowd. He watched throughout the entire service, his faces looking to those of the mourners, his family present to be there for their friends, the daughters of the deceased comforted by their loved ones. His own parents never received a proper funeral--they were cremated by the Darkstrom soldiers, and their cremains sunk into the sea.
As the party approached the open graves, the Pall Bearers placing the caskets in their respective graves, the boy's face lifted to the sky.
"...clouds" he whispered as he lowered his head to the four caskets, the gathering of mourners.
The Priest spoke the final prayers, and all joined in the Final Commendation, just before the first casket--Rebekah's father--was being lowered. Rebekah watched bitterly as first her father, then her mother returned to the earth. Wolfgang stood behind her, watching the caskets being lowered, unable to hold back the tears. His girlfriend closed her eyes for a moment, then reopened them, tears spilling at last over her pale cheeks.
The casket of Anneke's father soon was slowly lowered, and the girl herself forced herself to watch through this. "Don't if you can't handle" Karl, standing behind her, whispered in her ear.
"I have to, Karl" she whispered back as she began to cry. "They brought me into the world. I cannot turn away. This is the least I can do for them now."
Karl held her in his arms, watching as the casket of her mother was soon lowered to the grave. Blessed be the ones whose love brought Reks and Anya to us he thought, wiping a tear from his face. The caskets now being lowered, Anneke looked to the youngest of the Quartet, who was on her knees and sobbing, being comforted by Wolfgang.
The rest of the mourners dispersed, but the Quartet, Mensch-Maschinen and Alessandro remained. One of the gravediggers asked if everyone was alright, and if anyone needed a hand. Alessandro simply looked up and asked for a shovel.
"A... a SHOVEL!?" the gravedigger asked.
"Yes, Sir. A shovel."
"But... why!?"
"Because this is family you're trying to bury. We will proudly bury our family ourselves."
The gravedigger simply smiled and handed the former orphan the shovel and pointed him to the mound of dirt, and told him of extra shovels if needed. Seconds later the boy ran back with his first shovelful of dirt. Anneke raised a brow at him, but Alessandro wouldn't have any of it as the rain began to fall.
"This is family, you guys" he insisted. "I'm not going to let strangers' hands place the ground over loved ones."
Anneke looked at the mound of dirt and shovels for a moment--the child was right. If you're gonna bury your parents, best to do it with your own hands. And what better way than to lead by example--she stood up and straightened out her skirt.
"What is it, Anya?" Karl asked, looking up at her.
"This is family, and there is huge debts owed to those who gave us to the world" she replied. "This is the last proper favor we can do for them." And with that she followed Alessandro and, taking up a shovel, returned to help seal the graves.
Then, one by one... the rest of the gang followed. The graves were filled within an hour. And as they stood before the graves of their loved ones, wiping sweat and tears from their faces, their eyes, Rebekah and Anneke smiled, clasping each other's hands tightly. For despite now being rainsoaked through the storm, there was a proper sense of closure in their being. All was going to be just fine.
Then the gang went back to the church to change and dry off, and then to the Spacelab, for a luncheon and rejoining of the rest of the mourners from the Union.
May angels lead you into paradise; may the martyrs receive you at your coming and lead you to the holy city of Jerusalem. May a choir of angels receive you, and with Lazarus, who once was poor, may you have eternal rest. Amen.
*writer's note - much of the chapter was inspired by the funeral traditions of the christian and hebrew faiths.*
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