Alone

The opening unfolds at a somber funeral, where the clergyman’s hesitant words echo through a small, weather‑worn community. The mourners, friends and long‑serving servants, carry the coffin along a garden path scented with wilted roses, each step a reminder of the life now quieted. In the hush of twilight, a weeping willow looms, its drooping branches framing the final descent into the earth.

Through this quiet tableau, the narrative draws attention to the ache of solitude that follows loss, exploring how ordinary moments—tiny gestures, lingering scents, a child’s startled gasp— become the thread that holds a family together. As the story settles into the garden’s gentle shadows, listeners are invited to contemplate love, memory, and the fragile hope of finding comfort in the everyday even when a beloved presence has slipped away.