Life and Death

The sweet smell of jasmine filled the air as I parked the car and waited. I wondered where the jasmine was and contemplated looking for it. This was not how I wanted to spend my evening.

It irked me to no end that I was the only person in the whole family that could pick up the ashes of the not so dearly departed grandfather we all had hated. I mean come on, just because he was a bastard and did not give a hoot about any of us was no reason to let his ashes be scattered by strangers.

I guess this was my last ditch effort to put some sort of ending to the whole fiasco. Of course, it did not help that everyone in the family thought I was nuts. But he was a human being even if he wasn't the best one. The thing about it is he lived his life hurting others for his own reasons. At least he was true to himself, even if no one thought he was right. He had no mercy for others. I guess they all believe since he did not show mercy to them, it's only fitting they not show him respect at the end of his life.

I took a deep breath as I walked toward the crematorium door. The jasmine was strong. It gave me strength and permeated my soul as I asked for his ashes. Someone gave me an obligatory condolence as I waited. I nodded and concentrated on my breath. I was glad sort of that this part was almost over. I signed the papers and they gave me his urn. Surprisingly, it was quite heavy. The grandfather has picked out a white marble urn. Carefully, I placed it in the car and drove. It only took ten minutes to get there.
I parked the car at the creek and picked up the urn. The creek was full as I approached it. I knelt and took a deep breath once again. I popped the top off the urn and stood. I said goodbye. Nothing more, nothing less. I poured his ashes into the creek and watched as they disappeared into the circle of life. I left the urn there. It was done. Now I was free and so was he.
As I drove off into the night the sweet smell of jasmine filled my soul, permeating my senses as tears of shame and joy washed over me. Serenity exists. I know. I found it tonight.