“The Funeral” first appeared in The Avalon Literary Review‘s Spring 2016 Issue.

I watch the funeral from the apple tree. Stupid kids. Their stupid mouse died and they have a stupid funeral. Their stupid mom gave them an old shoebox to bury it in. She’s so dumb. Like anyone really cares about a stupid, little mouse. She let the girls put Kleenex in the box so it would be soft. Like a dead mouse cares if it’s soft. It don’t care about nothin’ now, cause it’s dead.

I had a mouse, too. They gave it to me. They had two, and I never had a pet. They said since I liked it so much, I could have it, since we were neighbors. Theirs was named Mickey, but I named mine Thor. They were both white. I liked mine better, though. Theirs was littler.

I don’t know why their mom lets them do the stuff she lets them do. It’s stupid. The mouse don’t know. She dug the hole under her rosebush, so it would be pretty for him. Don’t she know he’s dead? He don’t care.

Their mouse lived a long time, but mine died a long time ago. They must have gave me the bad one, even though he was bigger. Mine didn’t have no stupid funeral. My dad don’t waste his time on stupid stuff. He threw my mouse to the dogs, and said, “Circle of life, Son. Deal with it.” He’s not stupid like their mom.

Everything about this funeral is stupid. Their mouse was stupid. This stupid funeral is stupid. Their mom is stupid.

If I had a mom, she would be cool.

Rachel Holbrook writes from her home in Knoxville, TN. She is the author of the syndicated serial, Little River, Volumes 1 & 2. Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in Burningword Literary Journal, *82 Review, Ink in Thirds, Akitsu Quarterly, The Avalon Literary Review, The Society of Classical Poets, and various other literary journals. She recently won an Honorable Mention for her short story “A Slow Burn” at the Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society’s annual convention. She also received the Springs of Helicon Award for Poetry, awarded by Tennessee Wesleyan University. When she’s not writing, she enjoys going on literal and literary adventures with her husband and six children.