I was with my friends, hiking nearby one of my friend's houses, in search of a place to bury a deceased pet. It was a dog, rescued from a kill shelter. It was one of my friend's dearest pets, having lived a long and happy life that would have otherwise been cut short if it had been left at the shelter. We were going through a kinda dangerous area. There were nettle stingers around, some homeless people, and a few wild animals too. The homeless weren't dangerous unless they were high, so the others didn't seem worried. It was only the three of us out of the group today. Me, Raven, and Maddie. We'd all cared for the dog, and we're here to say our final goodbyes. The location Raven picked was by a stream of "water". It wasn't all water, mostly sewer waste, as the "water" actually came from the sewer pipes.
"How much longer are we going to walk?" I asked, my annoyance with exercise blatantly showing. Raven rolled her eyes.
"Too pretty to walk?" Raven asked sarcastically.
"Yes, I am FAR too pretty, no, scratch that, far too BEAUTIFUL to be seen out in this wooded mess." I said dramatically, whipping Raven with my hair.
"Funny, because I recall MY looks to be far more beautiful," Raven responded sarcastically.
"Guys, you MUST be joking. My looks are far more extravagant," Maddie joked. The three of them burst out laughing. Raven stopped herself abruptly.
"GUYS! Don't make me laugh too hard or I'll drop her," She said, referring to the deceased dog in her arms.
Me and Maddie's laughter ceased, and a solemn expression came over my face. Maddie copied, and soon, all of us were wearing similar depressed expressions. We were here for a sad reason, after all. Raven eventually led us to the spot they were looking for. Even though the water was murky, dark and full of little tadpoles, it managed to reflect the sky above. It was surrounded by trees, though they didn't reach over the entire stream. There was some cotton from the nearby trees resting on top of the water, and they looked like tiny spiderwebs. There was only one way to get across, besides walking through the tainted water. It was a few small rocks that someone could step on.
We went very close to the bank, and started digging. Raven was the one initially doing the work, while Maddie held the lifeless pet, and I gathered shiny rocks to put around the grave. When Raven was done digging, she took some of the cotton that was laying around, and placed it at the bottom, creating some bedding, as if the dear pet was only sleeping. Maddie carefully placed the dog's body on top of the cotton, then carefully pushed the access dirt on top of her. She stopped halfway, and took a plant that she had been carrying with her, and placed it on top. She covered the bottom of the plant in dirt. I took the rocks she had been gathering, and placed them around the grave. All of them were quartz crystals, a common, yet extravagant rock that could be found in the area.
"Lily, you were a beautiful creature who didn't deserve to die. I know that rescuing you was the best thing I could do, and I have the satisfaction of knowing that you lived," Raven said. Her eyes were puffy because she was trying not to cry. I squatted down, as if she was talking to the actual dog, and not just a grave.
"You were a companionate, loving animal. Where you lie, a beautiful plant will grow from the nutrients your body will provide. It will be like you are reincarnated into the earth, returning to your true home," She said. Maddie only whispered a small goodbye, and cried a bit.
All of a sudden I felt tense. It's just the spirit of Lily passing into the afterlife, my clam side thought. The other side of my brain, however, was going insane. NO, IT'S A PERSON. IT IS A FUCKING MURDERER AND THEY ARE GOING TO KILL YOU AND YOU FRIENDS AND YOUR- no, calm down, nothing is- CALM DOWN? THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN, CALM DOWN! THAT COULD BE A MURDERER OR A RAPIST OR SOMEONE WHO IS HIGH AND HAS NO CONTROL OVER THEIR ACTIONS AND- oh my god! Shut up! You are over thinking everything!
The battle going on in my thoughts distracted me from what was really making me tense. The feeling disappeared moments after it came, leaving me questioning my instincts. And I swear, I saw a human-like figure out of the corner of my eyes.