The Slender Man Read Online Free PDF Page B

Denise
into the grave, and we all line up to pour a shovelful of earth into it. Since
I sat in the first row, I am one of the first lined up to take their turn. As I
approach, one of the funeral staff hands me a spade, and I scoop up a shovelful
of dirt and place it upon Denise’s still very visible coffin. The dirt splashes
against the coffin, not even making a dent in filling up the grave. I hand the
shovel to one of Shana’s relatives behind me, and move on. I stand and watch as
everyone takes their turn with the spade. Some of their relatives cry, or say a
quick farewell as they take their turn. Others remain silent and solemn.
    When Leanne is handed the spade, she looks reluctantly at
the grave, as if she doesn’t want anything to do with the burial, but she
quickly recovers from her hesitation and dumps a hefty amount of soil into the
grave before handing it back to her mother. Leanne didn’t lose anyone related
to her in the crash, but I’ve heard that she lost a baby brother to pertussis
sometime before I moved here, but she never talks about it. Either way, it’s
probably not the first time she’s had to deal with something like this. Leanne
and her mother are the only Sourwoods that came, and lined up behind them are
the Willows. The Willows didn’t lose any of their children in the crash. Their
youngest is four, and an only child. When everyone in the line has taken their
turn, the grave is still nowhere near filled. It’s now that Dad ushers some of
the mourners to stand around the grave and recite the burial Kaddish. Most of
the people around the grave are Denise’s family members, in fact I think my
Dad- who’s leading the ceremony, is the only one not directly related. After the
burial Kaddish, he leads all of us- at least those of us that know the words
(not including me) into the mourning Kaddish, while the hired funeral staff
takes over filling the rest of the grave.
    After the burial, Dad hosts a memorial session, and throughout
the whole event I can feel Leanne’s eyes boring holes into my neck. I catch her
looking at me twice, and then avert my gaze, knowing she’s still looking at me.
If I’ve done something to set her off, I don’t know what it could be. After the
memorial, I decide to confront her.
    When most of the audience drifts around the site, not
wanting to be the first family to leave, I approach Leanne. I tap her on the
shoulder and she turns around to face me. It’s only when I get this close to
her that I realize just how pallid her complexion is. She barely has any more
color on her skin than Adam. She looks me up and down, sizing me up, as if she
hadn’t noticed me all day, and wonders why I have the audacity to purse my lips
at her like this. She raises her eyebrows. I hold my hands out and shake my
head.
    “I don’t like passive aggressiveness Leanne. What is it?” I
say. She cocks her head to the side as if not sure how to respond to my
approach. I can tell she originally intended to play dumb for her initial
response, but is intuitive enough to know that I’m ready to skip that.
    “I don’t like you,” she finally says.
    “It seems like more than that. You don’t stare at someone
for hours just because you don’t like them. You look like you want to kill me.
Like you hate me. Why?” I ask.
    Now Leanne purses her lips.
    “Look around you,” she says. I look around.
    “Everyone here has lost something. Everyone except you,” she
continues.
    “You don’t think I’m suffering from this?” I ask.
    “Your phony empathy can’t compare to real suffering. You’re
just playing along, not sure how to handle it. You think you’re the lucky one,”
she answers.
    “Are you saying that Adam should have died too?” I ask,
getting angry.
     Her eyes tell me that is the truth, but her mouth
doesn’t want to admit it out loud.
    “I’m just saying it’s not fair that you all got to cheat
your way out of it. This is one of three funerals I’m going to, but this