The temperature in the suburbs is significantly lower than that in the city. After getting out of the carriage, he handed over a few shillings for the fare to the driver. Today's expenses have exceeded Jenkins' budget.
After a brief heartache, looking at the cemetery, my heart became heavy again.
I was still worried that a stranger would be conspicuous if he came to the funeral, but I didn't expect that at Mr. Pisco's funeral, all the people who came were strangers.
Passing through the iron fence gate and walking along the long stone-bricked sermon in the thick fog, I found that there were really many people going to the small church in the cemetery.
Sensitive hearing allowed Jenkins to "accidentally" overhear other people's conversations. It turned out that Mr. Pisco, as a well-known script writer, had a wide range of friends during his lifetime, plus some admirers and citizens who came here for fame. Jenkins is simply unremarkable.
I don't know what method was used, but there are green bushes on both sides of the sermon. This is probably a variety that can maintain greenness in late autumn. Thinking of this, Jenkins took a few steps to the side, so that his right hand was blocked by the bouquet, and the healing green/air flow penetrated into the bouquet of flowers in his hand, and it was visible to the naked eye. It blooms more vividly.
"Hmph, sure enough, it's not healing at all, it's releasing the breath of life!"
The leather shoes stepped on the cold stone bricks, and he raised his hand to support the black top hat. The figure in front of him was somewhat familiar.
"Professor Burns!"
He hurried forward to say hello, and the professor, who was also wearing a black dress, turned around and saw Jenkins with some surprise.
"Oh, Jenkins, are you here too?"
He did not ask about the relationship between Jenkins and Mr. Pisco, which also confirmed the fact that there were many strangers in the funeral.
According to local customs, funerals are generally held in the chapel in the cemetery. And if it is a remote place without a church like a village cemetery, the priest of the [Death and the End] church will be specially invited to the city.
The church here, of course, is also the church of the God of Death. That inconspicuous building is at the end of the sermon and in the middle of the cemetery. The walls were already somewhat mottled due to the wind and the sun, and at the top of the main entrance of the church was a holy emblem made of black iron sheets.
There is no special power, just the shape and content of the holy emblem itself makes people feel very uncomfortable.
After standing in awe at the church door with the professor for a while, the two walked into the church together.
The interior of the church is decorated in a serious style. At the front of the rows of benches stands a priest wearing a black priest's uniform. This is a boon, but only level 1.
The chapel was already full of people, and when Professor Jenkins and Burns arrived, only the last row remained.
Jenkins was unaware of Mr. Pisco's family status, but relatives are customarily seated at the front. He hoped to see the girl in the photo that Mr. Pisco had in his hand when he died, but he craned his neck and searched around but couldn't find it.
The funeral was supposed to start at two o'clock in the afternoon, and it was just one o'clock. The church obviously couldn't accommodate so many guests, and several priests were hastily coordinating seating issues.
Compared with yesterday's warmer temperature, today's temperature has dropped again. This hot and cold weather is the easiest to catch a cold. The temperature in the church was extremely low, and the atmosphere of the funeral itself had an impact on people's hearts. Even the strongest young man regretted not wearing an extra piece of clothing.
Instead of just sitting there and waiting for the funeral to start, they went to the coffin in front of them in order to put down the flowers in their hands. During this period, they finally saw Mr. Pisco's relatives.
It was a young girl and an old gentleman, and Jenkins learned that the girl was Pisco's niece and the gentleman his uncle.
Because when visiting Mr. Pisco, he used the black robe to conceal himself, so no one knew that he was the first person to discover Mr. Pisco's death.
The young girl seemed to know the great writer, and exchanged some pleasantries with him, thanking him for coming to the funeral, but Jenkins just smiled reluctantly.
I don't know when, but the custom of hanging the photos of the deceased began to be practiced at funerals. This is probably related to the development of cameras in recent years. Looking at the black-and-white photo and Mr. Pisco with a serious expression on it, Jenkins felt that his mood was very complicated.
"Everybody dies."
When the two sat down again, the professor sighed softly.
"You may not feel it at your age, but in recent years, I have sent away many old friends."
Jenkins nodded, looking at the people who came to the funeral in a trance:
"Mortal is mortal, we are all going to die."
The professor couldn't help laughing when he heard this:
"How old are you, so you're talking about this kind of thing? And with your ascension speed, it's only a matter of time before your lifespan exceeds the limit. We are all mortals, and the meaning of a limited life is to unleash infinite possibilities. You see, Mr. Pisco's A life is wonderful enough, though short, but at least we all remember him. Oh, great playwright, may your soul be with God!"
In the end, the number of guests still exceeded the capacity of the chapel, and people had to stand in the aisle to listen to the memorial mass of the old priest of the church. Everyone was very quiet, only the priest stood in front of the coffin and opened his arms in Mandarin with a Nolan accent:
"...soul, release its criminals generously, and grant the glory of resurrection. Together with the saints and pre-recorded ones, live happily ever after. For me..."
This is the universal discourse, taken from The Revenant, a classic of the Church of Death and the Last Days.
This process lasted for half an hour, during which men and women could be heard sobbing from time to time.
Afterwards, relatives and some friends carried the small coffin, and the guests moved to the tomb that had already been dug, put down the coffin covered with red velvet cloth, and then filled it with soil.
During the whole process, Jenkins stood far away at the end of the crowd. His height was not bad, and he could barely see what happened around the tomb.
It was very surprising that Professor Burns and Mr. Pisco were very distant relatives, so he had to temporarily separate from Jenkins to talk to relatives and friends who might not meet once in ten years.
Thinking about going back to the city with the professor for a while, after saying hello, he stayed away from the crowd, and wandered aimlessly around the cemetery. He really didn't want to see the funeral. Mr. Pisco's departure made him very sad.
I met another acquaintance under a dead tree near the edge of the cemetery. It was Mr. Kevin, the pianist. During the psychic game the night before yesterday, the two had a good chat.