The Kite

Davis patted his friend, Jed, on the shoulder. “None of my business, but you need to get over it.”

“I am over it. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Okay. But you’re going kite flying? Today?”

“Davis… It’s windy. A perfect kite day. You goin,’ or not? Cool, either way.”

“I’ll go. Might be fun.”

Jed brightened. “Let’s do it.”

Davis’s older sister, Kat, entered the room. “Whassup?” A high school senior, she had fun hanging out with her little brother.

Jed said, “Goin’ to fly kites.”

“Really? Today?”

“What’s the big deal about today?”

Kat couldn’t believe his cluelessness. “Well, the funeral… Coach Williams…?” Davis smiled. “Everyone will be there.”

Jed shrugged. “Yada, yada… I know. Social event of the season. You think he’d want me there?”

“Well…”

Davis said, “Don’t think he cares either way, Jed.”

Jed rolled his eyes. “Hey. If you want to get technical. I’m doing what he told me. Following orders… Sir, yes sir… flying a kite.” He made a faux salute.

Unconvinced, Kat nodded. Davis made a face but she didn’t laugh.

Jed kept preparing. “I’ve got a spare. You coming? Or…?”

“Sure. I’ll go. Haven’t flown a kite since grade school.”

Doing inventory, he said, “Okay. Got string. Got kites. What else?”

“Water?”

“Right. Got it.”

Kat asked. “Where we going?”

“The ridge. You know, where it’s windy…?”

“Of course.”

Jed grabbed the stuff and went to the door.

“I promise it’ll be fun.”

Davis said, “No doubt.”

Davis opened the car while Jed stowed everything in the trunk. Kat got in the back seat.

Pulling into traffic, Davis drove toward the ridge south of town. Jed thought, our looking down at the cemetery is purely coincidental. Kat checked her phone but stayed tuned to the conversation.

Davis said, “Not everyone makes the team, Jed. It wasn’t personal. Lots of guys get cut.”

“I know that. But he was so nasty.”

“You argued. He answered your snark. Can’t be easy being the coach, picking who’s best for the team.”

Jed sighed. “Why are you on about this? It’s old news.”

“You sure ‘bout that?”

“Absolutely. What’s your point?”

“I don’t know… No point. This sudden urge to fly a kite is… uhm, mysterious.”

Jed shrugged. “Yeah, I’m a big mystery.”

Kat thought, not really. She offered, “Must be why everyone calls you Mystery Jed.”

She began humming the theme song to ‘Mr. Ed,’ the old sit-com about a talking horse. Davis joined in. Hilarious laughter soon took over. Kat pounded the back of Jed’s head rest.

Jed groaned. “Shut up, guys. Not funny.”

She laughed. “Everyone needs a theme song, Jed. Wish I had one.”

“How about the ‘Barney’ song?”

Kat nodded. “Worth considering… But ’Mystery Jed…’ That might just stick. Call you Mr. Jed, for short.”

Jed rolled his eyes. “…News flash! The joke has died of old age.”

Davis smiled at his sister in the mirror.

Jed said, “Listen up, guys. It’s a windy day so, I’m going kite flying. I don’t need your grief…”

Davis said, “Got it.”

“…Not from you. Or anyone...”

For a time, they rode in silence. Kat checked her phone.

Jed said, “…It’s no mystery… He kicked me off the team because of Daphne.”

Kat lunged forward, between the front seats. “You and daffy Daphne? An item? Tell me more...”

“We weren’t. But Williams thought so. So…”

Davis said nothing. He and Kat exchanged glances.

~

Standing at the graveside, Coach Williams’ daughter, Daphne, was numb. Vulnerable. Exposed.

So much had happened in the last week. None of it fun. She faced an unfillable void. Her mother stood beside her. Daphne provided as much physical and emotional support as she could muster. Devastated as she felt, Daphne knew her mother suffered more. She held her mother close. The widow seemed to shrink into her small frame, smaller by the minute.

More than half the school turned out for the funeral. Staff and teachers too. Daphne never knew how popular her father was. All these people had gathered in his honor. She felt so alone.

Students either loved or hated him. She got it. People who can’t live up to high expectations blame the one encouraging them. He was one of those ‘no nonsense,’ well-respected coaches. They won games.

Daphne’s father, Trevor, always wanted the best for her. And he demanded no less than the best from her. So, Daphne didn’t always get her way. Now, their differences didn’t matter. None of it mattered now. Only that he was gone forever. She missed him beyond words.

Daphne looked about. Friends nodded in sympathy. Some came up to offer comfort.

Gusting wind buffeted the crowd, adding one more thing to the craziness of the last week. She wished they were inside a peaceful, quiet building. And far away from this grotesque hole in the ground, where her father’s coffin lay.

How can I get through this? Taking care of Mom. That’ll be enough. Has to be.

Figures moving on the ridge top caught her attention. She froze. What? They aren’t. They wouldn’t. I can’t believe it. They are. Kites? Here? Today? Others glanced up. Some whispered. What’s going on?

Daphne switched places with her mother, so she’d be less likely to look at the ridge. She wanted no distractions from the service.

The minister, Pastor Juniper, came up to Daphne and her mother. He took their hands, gave them an affirming squeeze, and spoke a silent prayer.

Preparing to speak, he turned to the crowd of over a hundred. Doing a funeral, perhaps his most sacred task, always gave Pastor Juniper pause. He hoped, one day, these kids in t-shirts and jeans will learn to dress for the occasion.

But, most importantly, they had come. They’re here. He wanted to give them reasons to return. To offer them a healthy perspective, that life is about more than cell phones. Pastor Juniper hoped to generate a reverence for life and what comes afterward.

Out in the cemetery, he had no microphone. Well-practiced in public speaking, he knew how to project. Despite the wind, he knew everyone who wanted to, would hear.

“Nearly everyone here knew Coach Trevor Williams as a coach. But his life was so much more than that. Coaching takes a nurturing spirit. Some might disagree. Trevor was kind. And generous… Some under his guidance found him tough, even unrelenting. But it was a toughness that generated loyalty and inspired many to do better.”

Pastor Juniper paused. “Trevor’s passing took most of us, by surprise. But not Trevor. He was always ready, and the way he lived, spoke to the understanding that none know the hour…”

~

On the ridge, Jed and his friends sent their kites aloft with little trouble. Kat had a butterfly kite. Davis’s was bat shaped. A hawk, its wings spread and talons bared, adorned Jed’s kite. The steady wind, and his skill, made his kite fly higher than the others.

Jed felt kite flying was magical, wonderous. How this flimsy kite, made of crossed sticks and paper, could fly so high, suspended by a single string? Its tail danced erratically in the breeze. One tug sent the kite higher. Feeding out more string, he let the spool spin in his hands. It gave him a strange sense of power over this distant thing, so far out of reach.

Ignoring the funeral gathering far down the hill, Jed didn’t care. He celebrated his way. His feet were on the ground and his imagination soared. I’m free…

He looked at Kat. “Where’s the water.”

“Oh, in the car. Didn’t want it in the sun.”

He looked around. There was no place to secure his kite string. “Can you get it for me?” He held his spool up. “I’m busy…”

Kat held her spool of string up. She said, “It’s in the car, Jed.”

He gave up. “Can you hold it for me. I’ll be back in a sec.” She smiled and took his spool in hand. “Don’t let go!” he called back, running to the car.

Kat looked at Davis, who nodded with a grin.

With a quick swipe, Jed’s kite string fell limp. His kite lurched. She pocketed her jack knife.

Untethered, the kite dove.

Hearing their laughter, Jed turned and yelled.

“What’d you do! Go get it!”

Still laughing, she balked. “It’s your kite. You get it.”

He swore at her. “You cut the string…!”

She pointed at the kite, its tail flagging. “Better hurry! Look! It’s drifting!”

Sprinting, Jed took off down the hill.

Pastor Juniper stopped speaking when the untethered kite drifted into his field of vision. All eyes followed his gaze. Some held their phones up to record its approach. It seemed as if it were guided toward them. A gust of wind sent it swooping up and hanging for a moment. The wind died and the kite dropped, landing upright at the grave’s edge. Its tail dropped into the hole. T Too late, two students lunged for it. A slight gust toppled it into the grave. The crowd groaned.

Out of breath, Jed ran up. Everyone turned. He heard some laughter and shushing. Feeling everyone’s eyes on him, he blurted, “Oh… Hi… Sorry, I’m late.”

He saw Daphne and her mother standing near the minister. Their eyes met. He froze. Whispering, he said, “I’m so sorry.”

Bewildered, Daphne nodded. Pastor Juniper watched and waited.

Jed scanned the ground. “Where’s the…? …Oh…” Feeling dizzy, he shook his head.

He walked to the grave’s edge and saw the kite lying, face down, askew on the coffin. It almost looked like it belonged there. The kite string led up onto the grass and trailed back toward the ridge. Drawing the string, Jed retrieved the kite. He saw it was undamaged.

Bowing his head toward Daphne, he said, “Again… Sorry for the interruption.” Jed backed away from the gathering. Then he turned, held the kite over his head and strode back to the ridge. The kite’s tail fluttered over his shoulder.

Pastor Juniper clapped his hands to draw focus back to the funeral. “That concludes my comments. Please share thoughts or memories of our beloved, Trevor Williams, with the group. But please keep it short, so everyone may speak.”

He bowed his head, blessed the crowd and stepped beside Daphne.

The football team quarterback stepped forward with some teammates, to share memories of his coach.

Pastor Juniper whispered to Daphne. “Quite a coup you pulled with your young friend, Ms. Williams. How did you convince God to assist you in executing such a perfect gesture?”

Daphne turned to him with her mouth agape. “I didn’t… I couldn’t… I’d never…”

Smiling, the pastor said, “Never seen anything like it. Truly miraculous… Perfect…!”

Her mother’s touch drew Daphne’s attention.

Her mother said, “Is it true? What the pastor said? You and that nice boy planned it?”

“No, Mom… I…”

“It was perfect! Daddy would have loved it. And that t-shirt! Your father’s favorite metal band…”

“Honestly, I wish…”

“He would have laughed so hard. I can hear him now.” Daphne’s mother laughed heartily at the thought, the first time in days.

When everyone had finished sharing memories, Pastor Juniper thanked the crowd for coming. “Thank you. Goodbye… See you all again.” I pray…

Arm in arm, Daphne and her mother walked to their car. Her mother said, “He seemed like a nice boy. What’s his name?”

“Not now, Mom.” Daphne saw three figures near the ridge top. She shook her head. Not ever…

The crowd dispersed. But talk about that funeral lasted for years.

~