Inside:
The church was filled. Everyone that knew her loved her and they all came to say goodbye.
Those that approached the front felt their eyes swell with tears. She looked so different. Was it really her lying there? It couldn't be. She was never that still in life and where was her smile?
She always had a smile on her face, it didn't matter what she was doing. The smile was the broadest when her family came to visit her. She loved her family more than she loved herself.
People began to file to their seats, it was almost time. Her seven children sat up front in the tuxedos she had given them. They sat in the front row together, just as they had when they were growing up.
Their families were behind them. The husbands, wives, and children of her children were there giving their love and support.
When the music began and the hymn reached up to heaven there was a change in the church. It was as if they were no longer alone in their grief. There was a presence in the church, one filled with love and the memory of happier times.
If one looked up to the ceiling at that moment, one would catch a glimpse of something. There, in the sunshine pouring through the stained glass windows, seemed to stand a figure that smiled down at everyone gathered in the church.
As the music stopped there was not a dry eye left in the church. Then the priest began to speak, he told of a wonderful woman that loved everyone. A woman that had so much love to give that none of her family felt unloved, despite the size of the family. A woman that stayed faithful and true to the same man for the sixty-five years they were together and for the four years they were apart she was even more faithful.
As they listened to the music during the second hymn many people remembered her music. She played the piano like a master. One of the most treasured things she left behind on this earth was a video, where she played for her family and friends. Just watching that video brings awe and tears to people's eyes.
Little did she know, as she lay in her bed, with her family near her. That a grandson of hers was proudly showing this video to others, saying how proud he was of his grandmother and how much he loved her. This same grandson that never cries broke down in tears as he saw her laying in her coffin, knowing that he would never be able to watch her play again outside of that beloved video.
When mass was over everyone found comfort in their loved ones that were still with them; as they ate their lunch and tried to look towards the future. A future filled with a new generation ready to take a step forward with their lives.
Outside:
The sun was blazing on this first day of summer. Everyone loved the sunshine though and did not mind it's heat, for she was pure sunshine, every day of her life.
Down the sunlit roads they followed the hearse. Couples held hands as they followed in their cars, remembering the great love she had for her husband.
The sun fell hot upon their heads as they stood at the gravesite. But this didn't truly bother them; for the sunshine meant that she was there, watching them.
And she was. He stood by the tombstone, smiling at her as she walked over with the pallbearers, those men that just couldn't let her go without giving her their help one last time. As she walked over those that stood with him began singing. It was a song everyone knew well.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
The other night dear, as I lay sleeping
I dreamed I held you in my arms
But when I awoke, dear, I was mistaken
So I hung my head and I cried.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are gray
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
Please don't take my sunshine away
There was not a dry eye around as this was sung. Some couldn't even sing, they had to mouth the words, because if they let out one sound they would begin sobbing.
As the coffin was set down she walked over to him. He had been waiting there for her. He couldn't go on without her.
The priest then said some words and then he ended it all on a cheerful note, making people smile and recognize that life does go on.
As people said their last farewells some started singing again. The tears were back in people's eyes. They knew that life would never be the same without their sunshine. As the last note was sung Bill took Rita's hand and led her up to heaven. Where those that had gone before were waiting for them and the sunshine they would bring.
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine…
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