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Ned never imagined there would be more than three people at his funeral : the preacher, his cold dead body, and the poor fool who got stuck organising the whole thing.
He’s somewhat right. There is a preacher, there is his body, though the casket is closed, and there is Duck Newton, the fool tasked with the organization of the event. But the room is also filled with other people, human and Sylf alike.
He’d imagined the preacher would struggle to find any good things to say about him. Thieving, cowardice and lying must all be sins of some kind after all.
He’d imagined the poor fool would get up after the preacher finished and see the empty room staring back at him. That emptiness would make him give up on even trying to give a speech. Besides, they would only have the room for an hour, anything else would start being too expensive.
He’s wrong about those things, of course.
The preacher talks about his sense of community, his charisma, his ability to unite the people of Kepler. He talks about how his show has inspired the children and adults of Kepler to see the weirdness and oddities of the world. Not once do they search for their words or struggle to seem genuine.
Duck gets up after, and sees a wave of familiar faces staring back at him. He takes a shaky breath and speaks, struggling to not stumble over his words. Then, Aubrey speaks. Even the Sheriff says a few words.
Ned never imagined that any tears would be shed at his funeral. Why would anyone cry for someone who’s only impact on the world was a few rich people being suddenly a little less rich, and the death of a teenager’s mother?
He couldn’t be more wrong about that.
Duck’s voice shakes from his first word to his last. He finally breaks in the middle of Aubrey’s speech. The look of grief on Duck’s face making tears well up in her own eyes.
Aubrey manages to finish her speech before heading back to her seat and taking one of the tissues Barclay’s been using.
Finally, the Sheriff stands, takes a deep breath, and says, “Ned wasn’t the most honest man, there’s no use pretending otherwise. But, I believe that his actions speak a thousand times louder than whatever lies he may have told. Based on those actions, I believe that everyone here can agree on one thing, regardless of what we may have thought of him. Ned Chicane was a damn hero, and we will always remember him as such.”