The People in My Head: William's Father

William's father died at 6pm on the 17th of August. He wasn't found until two days later, when a neighbour came around to see if he wanted to go to a movie. William's father had divorced his mother when he was six, and had seemingly spent the rest of his years in isolation. When the time came to prepare the eulogy for the funeral, nobody had much to say. His life had been a mystery since he had withdrawn from his family. It seemed inappropriate to William that he or his mother should speak, since all they had was puzzlement and anger at his retreat from them. They searched his apartment for clues to his state of mind, but he left them nothing. There were no pictures of William as a child, no keepsakes from his time spent married. No photos of old girlfriends or any sign of a current one. Not even a paycheck to say where he worked. William was almost willing to believe that his father had never existed, such was the imprint that he had left on the world. But the ache in his heart, the absence he felt and the hurt and confusion over the dead man's silence told him he would never really believe that. In the end, he knew that his father was a mystery that would never be resolved, and so when the time came the minister spoke for them. He said that Daniel had been a man who had been many things, a husband, a father, and that he had abandoned those things for reasons nobody would know besides him. Daniel was a mystery, and that was all that could be said. So they buried the mystery. And life went on.