Burned Out

by Rachel Green

On the advice from her sister, Julie Turling applied for the position of funeral director with Parkes and Sons, ticking the box that said previous experience but not the one which detailed previous employers. When she attended the interview - dressed rather garishly, in Mr. Parkes Junior's opinion - in sky blue under the obligatory tailored black jacket, she explained that it was not so much experience in a parlour as with the dead themselves. Mr. Parkes Senior looked at Mr. Parkes Junior who leaned forward in his chair and asked her what she meant. Julie looked up at Mr. Parkes Senior, laughed, and said, "Did you ever wonder why your father insisted on a burial rather than the cremation he offered to all his clients? He says that he stuffed his coffee full of money before he died and that's why his account was overdrawn." Mr. Parkes Senior bowed his thanks, and left to enjoy whatever eternity offered him.

6S

Rachel Green, author of Cleansing, is the chronicler of the demon Jasfoup.