“I think I just met the happiest person in the world!” Landon said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Being at the DMV was already bad enough, so it was more than he could take when the teller at the counter was getting smart with him.

He’s normally an easygoing guy, but this teller seemed to be on a mission to have a bad day, and he decided it was only kindness on his part to help her out with that a little. After all, it seemed like she had a big sign on her head that said, “Tell Me How Your Experience Was Today.” He was expecting some kind of backlash, eye roll, or “Sir, step aside please. That is not how you treat people.” Instead, he was thrown completely off guard when the woman started crying. It came silently and out of nowhere too; first one tear rolled down one cheek, then a tear rolled down the other cheek. As she said, “Sir, you need to sign here and… here,” her voice was quivering. He slid the paper back to her through the window, at which point it was instantly hit by one of the large drops running down her face and soaking into the paper, the circle of discoloration rapidly expanding outwards. She quickly slid the paper in line with the rest as if trying to hide the telltale mark before wiping her jawline dry with the back of her hand in frustration. “Sir you— have a good— day.” She was now holding back sobs, and it seemed to take every bit of strength she had in her. As he walked away, he turned to look back - still flabbergasted and not really believing what just happened - and he saw the woman bolting up from her chair and taking off in the direction of the exit.

Outside, Landon sat quietly in his car for a minute, filled with regret. “And yet she was rude,” he thought, but then a different thought chimed in as if now he was having a two-way conversation in his head: “Yeah, and she clearly had a reason, you idiot, and you just made it worse.” He wasn’t sure whether or not he should go back inside and apologize, but the revved-up adrenaline and lingering resentment inclined him to ignore that thought.

He was still thinking of that encounter as he pulled into the parking lot at the funeral home that evening for the viewing. His dad’s friend and coworker was found collapsed at his home in the middle of the night early that week, and his dad was taking it really hard. It was a shock to everyone really, because his coworker was one of the healthiest people they knew. He was always involved in running marathons and giving health and wellness advice on YouTube. Whenever Landon’s family would all get together for a family dinner, his dad would also invite his coworker, and they would all be entertained for hours as he would relate stories of marathons he participated in around the world. His adventures even inspired Landon into taking up running, though not to that extent.

Once he made it inside, Landon wove his way through the clusters of people in search of the rest of his family. It was standing room only, and the din of chatter seemed to keep getting louder as people tried to be heard over the noise. Not seeing any of his other family yet, he started searching some in the other lobbies and hallways. Thinking it led back into the main auditorium, Landon opened a door off one of the hallways but found it to be another auditorium, this one dark and not in use. He was about to close the door again when he noticed a chair off to the side and someone sitting in it. He was frozen, as if in a trance, as he watched a woman sitting there, her face lowered and hidden by a curtain of hair. Delicate hands occasionally brought a tissue up to her eyes. It was the kind of beautiful yet tragic scene that inspired art.

Suddenly the woman looked up at him. “I’m sorry. I know I’m not supposed to be here,” she said while rising to her feet.

“N-no, stay,” he said, holding up his hand. “I was just looking for my family.” He quickly closed the door, hoping she didn’t realize he was staring at her. He couldn’t imagine what just came over him. Even he thought he was acting like a creeper, something he vowed to himself never to repeat.

He found his way back to the main auditorium and found a chair, not knowing where else to go until he joined his family. It wasn’t but a couple of minutes later when he saw the same silhouette of the woman walk over to the casket and take her place beside it. Immediately she was surrounded by people offering her their condolences. A pained, forced smile was plastered to her face, and in that moment he understood the solitary scene he witnessed a few minutes prior.

He was startled out of his thoughts when the shrill words of “Sorry we’re late!” pierced the air beside him. He stood up and turned towards his family as his dad’s wife removed her hand from his shoulder. Rather than respond, he accompanied them through the throngs and toward the front of the auditorium. He couldn’t help but be curious of how this woman looked up close and in the light but, as he caught a glimpse of her, he wished he could turn invisible. There, just a few feet away, was the woman he smarted off to at the DMV. The hair that was previously tied up and hidden at the DMV now fell in long layers around her shoulders. Eyes that were hidden behind the glare on the glass now shone in hues of brown and green, with the green especially bright when set to the backdrop of the red in her eyes.

Landon held his breath as his family approached her. When it was his turn, recognition and slight fear flickered across the woman’s face as their eyes met, but she greeted him as if this was their first time. “Landon, this is Sarah,” his father’s voice boomed. “She is Miles’ daughter. Her father and I have been wanting you two to meet for a long time now. It’s a shame it’s under such circumstances,” he said, the last sentence coming out sadly as he turned to look at the man laying in the casket.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Landon said, trying to hide the guilt in his voice. When he grasped her hand in greeting, it felt just as delicate as it looked in the dark of the empty auditorium. “I… am so sorry,” he said. She looked at him as if she understood what he was really trying to say, and smiled at him softly.

“Thank you,” she replied. It felt like they just carried on a secret conversation with each other under the guise of a normal one, but then he couldn’t help but secretly laugh at himself in derision for the silliness of that thought. As the rest of his family gave their condolences, she never again glanced back at him, and he was surprised at himself for hoping she would.