Marry sat quietly in her chair at the back of the room. There was another funeral that her father was hosting and she always stayed and watched. It was always so gloomy for some reason; nobody talked or laughed or even cried. It was like everyone who came to these things just turned their emotions off.<br/><br/>Marry on the other hand, thought it was fascinating. She loved how the beautifully carved white, black, and sometimes brown coffins contrasted the bright flowers people laid upon them. And how the dead people were always dressed up so nice for the people who would look at them through their coffins. More than once, she'd wondered why dead people were paler, and why sometimes their noses were pinched shut. Her father had explained the science behind it multiple times, but she never quite understood.<br/><br/>Though she enjoyed the funerals for the most part, they weren't hers. So she had to stay quiet and at the back of the room, where she wouldn't disturb the mourners. Over the next several hours she went through the familiar steps of letting the living gather, eat some food and such. Then her father would give a long speech for the deceased. After that, people would come up and pay their respects. After that, they would carry the coffin down to the cemetery and lower it into the ground. Burying it quietly and delivering the body to its eternal resting place.<br/><br/>Marry knew though, that it was only the body that would stay there. She always hoped that after the coffin was buried, the ghost would start to feel claustrophobic and come out to chat. But usually, the ghost had moved on long before that. It was rare that she ever got to chat with one. She used to tell other kids about how she liked to talk to ghosts, but then they would make fun of her. So she avoided the other kids. Who needed to be friends with people like that anyway? But if they died and the only person they could talk to was her, she'd get a good laugh out of that one, and maybe,<span style="font-style: italic">maybe</span>she'd forgive them for the mean things they said.<br/><br/>After the long process was over and all the mourners had gone home, Marry's father put his hand on her shoulder. "You should go off and play somewhere," he said. "Have some fun."<br/><br/>Marry wanted to protest that she<span style="font-style: italic">had</span>been having fun, but thought better of it and ran off to run around the grave yard. She'd memorized most of the tombstones, but they were all so beautiful. It was like her own personal playground. Marry was sure the spirits were happy to have someone have fun near them for once.