Atton Rand & miscellaneous names (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fandomhigh2015-09-18 06:54 pm
suitably_heroic) wrote in fandomhigh2015-09-18 06:54 pm
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Philosophy of Loss, Friday, 2nd Period
When students arrived, they wouldn't find Didi there, but Atton, looking mildly uncomfortable. "Hey," he said, "Your regular teacher's out for the day, so I'm covering."
He sat down on the desk. "A lot of cultures place a lot of importance on bodies," he said. "I think this local culture called the Egyptians had this idea that in order to remain immortal after death, you had to keep the entire body as intact as you could. They had these intricate rituals that were meant to preserve as much of it as possible. They'd leave gifts behind, too, and they'd cast spells. Nowadays, Earth culture is a little more relaxed on it, but people will still go to great lengths to get bodies back, so they'll have something to bury. Sometimes bodies get cremated and strewn out over significant locations, that kind of thing."
He took a deep breath.
"Which leaves the question, what if there isn't one?" he said. "Some people feel that leaves them with nothing to mourn. Like it's empty, or not real. For other people it doesn't matter. I'm sure there are rituals out there, too, like marking a location and declaring that grave your loved one's anyway. Most of the time, what people really need is just a place they can mourn at, that's tied to this other person."
He shrugged lightly. "How do you feel about that?" he asked. "Are there rituals you know of? If someone you cared about died somewhere far away and you couldn't retrieve their body, what would you do?"
He sat down on the desk. "A lot of cultures place a lot of importance on bodies," he said. "I think this local culture called the Egyptians had this idea that in order to remain immortal after death, you had to keep the entire body as intact as you could. They had these intricate rituals that were meant to preserve as much of it as possible. They'd leave gifts behind, too, and they'd cast spells. Nowadays, Earth culture is a little more relaxed on it, but people will still go to great lengths to get bodies back, so they'll have something to bury. Sometimes bodies get cremated and strewn out over significant locations, that kind of thing."
He took a deep breath.
"Which leaves the question, what if there isn't one?" he said. "Some people feel that leaves them with nothing to mourn. Like it's empty, or not real. For other people it doesn't matter. I'm sure there are rituals out there, too, like marking a location and declaring that grave your loved one's anyway. Most of the time, what people really need is just a place they can mourn at, that's tied to this other person."
He shrugged lightly. "How do you feel about that?" he asked. "Are there rituals you know of? If someone you cared about died somewhere far away and you couldn't retrieve their body, what would you do?"
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She looked away, not willing to meet anyone's eyes. "Dead is dead."
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This one hit more than a little close to home. There had been a service for her parents, yes, but 'drowned at sea' was 'drowned at sea,' however else you looked at it. Elsa had been told that two large memorials had been erected in their honor, but there hadn't been any earth turned over, hadn't been any bodies to bury.
She hadn't gone to see the memorials herself. Of course she hadn't. They were gone, whether their bodies had been there or not.
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And, perhaps, answering the question. Although to be fair, he'd take a drink if he could retrieve the body as well. Or if nobody had even died. Or if his glass had liquor in it ever.
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Dead is dead. Yep. He knew that one.
"Is there anything you would get back home?"
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She chewed the inside of her cheek as she thought.
"That isn't all there is to me now that they're gone, of course. But it is a part. The things they did in their lifetimes are going to always be a part of me, too. That's the funny thing about loved ones."
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Okay, partly because she had to flee, but it ended up the same, now didn't it?