Mai Legacy
1.24 - A Feng Funeral
Susan hadn’t truly felt old until the week she received a call from Lily saying that Victor had passed the night before. She’d lived long enough that her friends were starting to die around her. Sure, James’s hair had turned grey, but he definitely wasn’t dead.
That was also the week Leah’s daughter, Willow, started walking. It’s when your children give birth to children of their own that you truly became aware that time is running out. But, Susan was happy. Sure, she’d gotten married on a whim, something her parents would definitely have disapproved of, but she couldn’t be happier with her decision.
She and James had amazing friends, beautiful children and grandchildren, and an extensive house! Some were lucky to say even one of those things.
Lily held the event in an underground room beneath one of San Myshuno’s taller apartment buildings. Apparently, Victor’s ancestors had had their lives remembered in this room for centuries now.
“Are we sure this is it?” Susan whispered, looking at the alley Lily had directed them to.
“This is definitely the address she gave us…” James said quietly.
Susan frowned.
“This whole location just seems off for the Feng family,” James went on. “Lily said Victor's family have been holding events here for years, and the Fengs have always been far from poor.”
“Well, come on! Doesn’t hurt to check,” Susan said, gesturing for James to follow her.
The two peered down the alleyway and let out a sigh of relief. Lily was standing in front of a building, waiting.
She smiled when James and Susan walked up. “I’m glad you two could make it.”
“Of course,” Susan nodded. “We wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“He’s the whole reason our legacy exists…” James muttered.
“That’s right,” Lily agreed. “Go in, I believe your assigned seats are in the second row.”
James and Susan nodded their thanks and walked into the room. They were very surprised to find that the room wasn’t fancy or extravagant in the slightest. The ceiling was low, the floor was cement, and Lily hadn’t set up more than folding chairs. The only decor was the picture of Victor behind his urn.
“I was expecting a room as extravagant as Jacques’s,” Susan whispered.
“Totally,” James agreed.
They found their seats and sat down right behind Lily and Victor’s son, Oscar.
“How are you holding up, Oscar?” James asked.
Oscar turned to them, tears in his eyes. “I’m fine.”
Susan frowned. “Do you want a hug or to talk?”
Oscar shrugged.
“We’re here for you if you want to talk, I get that it can be hard to talk to your parents about stuff like this,” Susan said sadly.
Oscar rolled his eyes. “I talk to my parents about everything. Especially Victor. Lily isn’t a fan of children, but she likes me more now.”
“Lily doesn’t…? Oscar, sweetie…”
“It’s fine,” Oscar went on. “Lily doesn’t have much time left, and I’ve already started drawing up plans for a mansion that will commemorate them. I’m a Feng, and we don’t have time for tears.”
“Susan,” James said urgently, tapping on her shoulder. “Look who just walked in!”
Susan, although worried about Oscar, tore herself away from their conversation to see Joaquin walking in, carrying a small girl.
“Are he and the Fengs even friends?” Susan hissed. “And where’s Hajar?”
Joaquin gave them a tired look. “They were friends with my parents. Hajar’s in the hospital. And this is Whitney, Lily and Victor’s second child.”
Susan and James shared a look. This wasn’t the Joaquin they remembered. All their memories of him consisted of bitter court battles where he stood up and fought for his family. They definitely didn’t remember this tired, defeated-looking man standing in front of them, acting as a babysitter for Lily.
Joaquin sighed to himself and sat down in a seat a good distance from Susan and James. He watched as little Whitney ran over to Oscar and climbed up into the chair next to him, then closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.
Both Susan and James felt like they should say something to him, but neither of them knew where to begin.
Those thoughts were ended when Lily walked in, and shut the doors behind her, plunging the room into dead silence. She really hadn’t invited many people.
She walked up to the front of the room and began her speech, dry-eyed. Susan remembered what Oscar had told her; Fengs don’t have times for tears. That seemed to be a value Lily held very close to her heart.
Lily seemed to cover the entirety of Victor’s life in her eulogy, and yet, both James and Susan walked out of the room feeling as if they’d learned absolutely nothing new about the man.
“… that was definitely the weirdest service I’ve ever been to,” Susan muttered.
“Tell me about it,” James agreed.
James and Susan boarded the ferry an hour later, headed for home.
When climbing off the ferry, the two smiled at each other. “It feels like it’s been so long since we last did that,” James grinned.
“We’ve barely left the island on our own since Seth and Leah were born,” Susan added.
“Feels good to finally have some time out here alone…”
“For sure.”
The two stood there at the docks for a good fifteen minutes, just staring at the water, before boarding the boat for the island.