The Pink Death

(It’s Mother’s Day and I am visiting my grandmother’s grave. She died several years ago after a difficult battle with Alzheimer’s. I have placed a pink bouquet against her gravestone with a short message. I am also tidying up around the grave because the cemetery has an issue with people littering. I notice a woman walking by me and think nothing of it until she walks up to my grandmother’s grave.)

Me: “Did you know her?”

Woman: “No. Did you?”

Me: “Yes, she’s my grandmother. I gave her the flowers.”

Woman: “Then you should be ashamed!”

(She kicks the bouquet and starts walking away.)

Me: “What the h*** was that for?”

Woman: “PINK? IN A GRAVEYARD! Are you f****** insane?!”

Me: “That’s hardly a reason to kick someone’s flowers off their grave. If you didn’t like them, you could’ve just told me, or better yet, ignored them.”

Woman: “It’s disrespectful to people who are still grieving! Nothing should be happy here. NOTHING!”

Me: “Well, I like to remember the happy times I had with her. Even when she couldn’t remember anything anymore, she still smiled whenever someone brought her something pink, and I like to think she still likes it.”

(The woman huffs and storms off, walking over several graves. I put the bouquet back and decide to warn one of the groundskeepers about her.)

Groundskeeper: “Don’t worry. We try to keep an eye out for her. She comes by every other month to bother the visitors. We’ve tried to get her banned, but her husband is buried here, and it’s hard to keep track of her with how sporadic her visits are.”

(When I visited my mum later, she told me she had also encountered the woman, and now whenever she visits, she takes a large assortment of colourful balloons, just in case the woman happens to be there, and offers her one.)

This story is part of the Mother’s Day 2023 roundup!

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