“The Village ” 22.8.11

Thomas Conroy, lost his cool, closed down his ex-box and then stomped across his bedroom towards the far window where he tried to work out where the brass band music was coming from. He couldn’t see anything of the band. Yet, he could hear people clapping and cheering between the tunes.

He moved the curtains to one side for a fuller view of the cemetery when two kids around his age just stepped out from behind two tall gravestones and started waving and beckoning him to join them. Usually there was always something going on with visitors near or around the Catholic section not then, there weren’t! The whole place was empty except for the two youngsters and the music of the brass band.

Arnold the gravedigger was the only on the Church of England section, who was waiting in front of an open grave. Thomas went to wave back at the youngsters but they were gone. He looked and looked for the two but there was no sign of them. Arnold was still leaning on his spade while waiting for the funeral of that morning. From out of no-where a line of people wearing party hats were doing the okey cokey while other groups of older people were now dancing to the rhythms of the brass band playing: “In The Mood”