New Life : A Second Chance

Who were these striking people who were obviously not part of Country M? Since when did the Yangs know of such people?

Stephan was at the door, greeting guests that came in and he looked at them in puzzlement.

"Mr. Yang," said Kyle softly, "We\'re sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," Stephan replied, "I"m sorry, but you are?"

Sayuri stepped forward, saying, "I\'m Sayuri, Lianne\'s art instructor. This is Kyle, my neighbour and his sister."

"Ah," Stephan said, nodding, "Thank you for coming."

Just then, a delivery van arrived and a guy came out, carrying a bouquet of white flowers. To be specific, it was 10 Stalks of Chrysanthemum, Yellow Peacocks, Snow White Leaves and Paku Leaves.

In the middle of the arrangement, was a white envelope.

Stephan signed the delivery order and took the envelope, placing it in his pocket for safekeeping. The flowers were placed amongst the other bouquets of condolences.

This was a typical gesture from those sending their condolences i.e. flowers and some contribution to help in paying for the funeral.

The amount given is normally dependent upon how close the person is to the deceased, but it would always be in odd numbers.

He noted the names on it, \'Smith\' but had no idea who they were. Perhaps it was the earlier people since he didn\'t know many foreigners here. He was touched that not only did they come to the funeral, they also knew of the customs well enough and gave this show of sincerity.

It was only much later, after the funeral was over, did Stephan open the envelope and nearly dropped it in shock. The envelope had been thin, and it had been from people he had hardly known, so he had not expected much. He was appreciative of any amount, no matter how small. Yet inside, it was $10,001 … Ten $1000 banknotes and one $1 note. Stephan couldn\'t help but sit down, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed softly.

Kyle stood still for a second, seeing the open casket in front of him.

He turned to look at his kids that were at the side. Lianne and Joseph. His heart twisted in pain upon seeing the dead look in their eyes. Kay grabbed his arm to give him support and he smiled, while his other hand naturally went to hold Sayuri\'s hand.

Having them both by his side made him be able to face this in a much better frame of mind.

With a deep breath, he walked over towards his children.

Lianne looked up, a slight spark in her eyes as she saw Sayuri and Kyle. Joseph was still a bit wooden, trying to be strong for his sister and be the \'man of the family\' while his father was busy.

Sayuri hugged Lianne while Kay stood at one side.

None of the kids knew Kay yet, so she didn\'t want to be overly friendly. Even though she knew about them since they were young. How could she not?

She had grown up listening to all the stories about them from Kyle, and the things that the Mary Poppin Agents in charge of monitoring them would give. The only thing she didn\'t do, was read up about Kylie because she felt that was too weird.

Her brother was Kylie, so to her, Kylie had to be in the past.

She was also worried that if she got too attached to Kylie, she might have trouble in letting Kylie die. It would have been one heck of a problem, and not getting to know Kylie at any level was the best solution for her.

She wanted the two to be completely separate from each other.

Kyle placed his hand on Joseph\'s shoulder, saying, "You\'re doing good, Joey. I\'m always here for you."

Joseph nodded.

"This is Kay, my twin sister," Kyle said to the both of them.

Kay gave them a soft smile, then hugged both Lianne and Joseph, saying, "I\'m so sorry for your loss."

Both Lianne and Joseph were rather stiff during the hug, but they didn\'t reject it. She was Kyle\'s sister, and she did look kind. Unlike Kyle. Hard to believe that the two were twins.

After that, they walked over to the open casket. Normally, the tradition would be that the viewing was done in order of the family hierarchy but this time, they were doing it slightly differently.

They allowed guests to view the casket first, then before the funeral procession, the family members would pay their respects.

[Are you sure about this, brother?]

[Yes] Kyle answered [I have to say my goodbyes too]

They walked over to the casket and as if in silent agreement, Sayuri and Kay stepped back, allowing Kyle to go first.

He peered in, not really knowing what to think or feel.

His former body was dressed up in one of his favourite formal outfit, and the face was covered with a white cloth. That was tradition, of course, and in this case, it was for the best.

Kylie\'s face had been smashed to a pulp and was burnt, after all.

The person who had dressed up his former body had done a good job. One could hardly tell the sort of trauma it had gone through.

"Goodbye, Kylie," Kyle whispered. It was rather strange to say such things to himself, but it made him feel better.

After that, they stayed on until the funeral rites and procession that started in the late evening.

Guests aren\'t expected to stay until the end. They can leave but must do so quietly without bidding goodbye.

There would be a red envelope (with a coin inside) on the table near the exit for the guests, as a token of gratitude and a prayer/wish for the guests\' safety in returning home.