Fragments of Flame

Thursday 17th February

Day 302

A month and two days ago my cousin died. He didn’t want a funeral, so today my father, my brother and my sister - representing our wider family - celebrated his life in the best way we could.

We drove to the coast and walked down to the beach. We stood in a row, where the pebbles meet the river, and where the river joins the sea and the salty sky in an urgent fast flow. We threw in handfuls of dried rose petals, the colours of blood and coral, tinged with last summer’s memories. The current took some, and others drifted back to the shore resting on the surface of the water, crisp fragments of flame.

The sea gulls swooped and cried above us while we remembered him - how he touched our lives. How glad I am that he came to join us. We left the beach with smooth Budleigh pebbles in our pockets and headed for Sidmouth garden centre for his wake, where we tucked into soup and baked potatoes and raised cups of hot chocolate in his honour.