Undertaker of Sorrows

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Undertaker of Sorrows

Copyright 2019 Albert Oon

Published by Albert Oon at Smashwords

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Sorrowful Heart 1 – Infectious Despair

There’s been silence in Roger’s house for nearly two years with the deaths of his children still weighing heavy on his soul as if they just died. He still has their torn clothes with their dried blood still on it. His house is as dirty and empty as if it was abandoned. The beds are undone, the kitchen is a mess, and dust covers almost every surface. Things that were broken have stayed broken. The washer and shower are rarely used and even though there’s barely anything in the fridge, the trash and recycle cans outside are filled to the brim.

It’s the birthday of his son and Roger has gotten cupcakes. He puts three cupcakes near three out of six chairs. He then sits down to eat his cupcake while looking through a photo album. There are only pictures of him and his children in the album though there are pictures with the faces of certain people torn off. Roger couldn’t bring himself to throw away a picture of his smiling children, so he cut out the “imperfections” to make it bearable to look at or rather easier. Every time he looks at the pictures in a photo or in his mind, he remembers his happy memories and feels sad. Sadness itself is the normal feeling for him and it shows on his face as the way he previously looked in the pictures make them look like they were taken decades ago.

He slams the photo album close as his emotions are becoming too much to bear. Looking through his mail, he finds bills, junk mail, and a surprise. One of the pieces of mail is a letter. There’s no address or anything either than Roger’s own. The sender only identifies himself as a friend.  Curious about it, he opens the letter to read it. The letter says,

“It's time to stop your mourning

It's time to wake to a new morning

Because this is a warning you should know

So you can be saved from your woes

You know what causes you despair

Your time for mourning has been fair

Now rise from your sadness

And taste the sweetness of gladness

The Undertaker of Sorrows is coming after you

He knows what you've been through

He wants you to succeed

But if you fail, he will do more than make you bleed

Your ways have caused others harm

And the state of your soul is cause for alarm

So let go of what causes you sorrow

Or the Undertaker will not let you live after tomorrow”

Roger has heard of the Undertaker of Sorrows, but his garbage can filled with crosses, Bibles, and pictures of the saints says his view of the afterlife and the supernatural, so he throws the letter in the trash. After eating his cupcake and throwing away the rest, Roger goes to bed in a worse mood than usual. He wakes up later and gets ready for another day of work. Once he’s ready, he leaves the house while stepping on the few bugs that share his home. Even though he joins the crowds of workers as he makes his way to work, he feels alone.

This is until he sees a strange man in the crowd. The man catches Roger’s eye because of the undertaker outfit he’s wearing and his hands that seem to be stuck in constant prayer. Their eyes meet as the undertaker looks at him then smiles. The Undertaker of Sorrows rhyme then plays itself in his head again before the undertaker he sees disappears into the crowd. Roger rubs his eyes then shrugs off what he saw.

When Roger arrives at work, he enters his room, which is almost as dirty and unappealing to look at as his house. The only thing that makes it look appealing are the certificates, awards, and dusty mini trophies from years ago. He looks through old and new emails of declining morale, reminders of better days, his duty to fix it, and to get over the past. Despite holding onto his job by a string, he types up excuses for his behavior and talks about making exercises that the company can do to improve morale that don’t involve him being in it. After typing the emails, he looks up to catch a few of his coworkers who were looking at him with sadness in their eyes. They look away then go somewhere else to carry on their conversation. Roger shrugs then sighs while looking up at the ceiling for a bit then looks outside his room again to see a familiar face.

The undertaker from before is back and talking to one of his coworkers. Both of them appear to be having a fun conversation, but something about the undertaker unnerves Roger. He looks back down at his computer to get back to work. It goes silent outside his room before he hears what sounds like something being slipped underneath his door. He goes to check it and sees the undertaker gently smiling at him while waving. Roger waves back with an uneasy look on his face before looking at the letter underneath his door. The letter has the Undertaker of Sorrows rhyme on it to his surprise. When he looks back up, the undertaker’s face has drastically changed to that of what the Undertaker of Sorrows is rumored to look like, which makes Roger leap back in fear. This is only for a spilt second as the undertaker’s face goes back to normal at the blink of an eye.

Roger keeps his eyes on the undertaker before rubbing his eyes then opening them again to see that the undertaker has disappeared. Thinking that his stress and tiredness is just getting to him, he makes himself coffee in his room while also taking some medicine to dull the pain. The workday goes on with emails getting sent to him that advertise counseling, psychiatrists, local church events, and the like that seem to be catered towards him. He dismisses this as the advertising algorithms that just want him to spend money or join their groups because of his internet history. Once the day is done, he heads out of his room and turns to lock his room only to find the Undertaker of Sorrows rhyme nailed on his door. He rips up the rhyme then storms out the door.

Along the way to his home, Roger decides to stop at the nearby bar but isn’t allowed in. In a worse mood than he is usually in, he storms down the streets while not caring about the people he walks through or the homeless he steps on. As soon as he gets home, he slams his mail on the table before sitting down to cool off. Once he’s had a drink from the fridge, he looks through his mail. Again, he finds advertisements for things that can help him be freed from his sadness and among the letters, he finds the Undertaker’s rhyme yet again. Roger thinks about letting go of his sadness but can’t bring himself to bear the pain. For the rest of the night, the memories of his previous life torture him until the broken clocks turn to eleven fifty-five.

This confirms to Roger that the Undertaker of Sorrows myth is just that. A myth. A knock at his door disturbs his sigh of relief. He gets up to see no one at the door, but he feels uneasy for some reason. He then closes the door only to see the same undertaker from before sitting in the chair he was watching TV in. The undertaker slowly turns around to reveal his horrifying face. His face that the Undertaker of Sorrows is said to have, however, it’s even more horrifying in person. The eye with a mouth in the pupil along with a wide eerie grin chills his soul.

The Undertaker sits and smiles while Roger stares back while trying to open the door, which he is unable to open. He then moves to the windows and tries to open, but they can’t open nor are they breakable. The two still lock eyes as the Undertaker hasn’t moved or done anything. The rhyme keeps playing and playing in Roger’s head as if it was begging him to do what it wanted. Instead of thinking about the rhyme, Roger backs up the stairs while keeping his eyes on the Undertaker. Once his eyes are off the monster, he turns to his bedroom where he sees the Undertaker pop out of it. This sudden scare makes Roger fall down the stairs.

When he looks back at the Undertaker, Roger sees his children’s torn clothes. The Undertaker tears the clothes apart into scraps. Roger scrambles to grabs the pieces and only manages to catch a few. Disappointed in what he did, the Undertaker puts one hand behind his back and waggles his finger while shaking his head. The only other possible way out is the back, so Roger runs to the kitchen and locks the door behind him. He tries to open the door, but that along with the nearby window is locked. The Undertaker’s rhyme gets his attention on the table. He looks at it again and feels like there’s more than the letter in his hands. Putting the letter down, he finds a picture of his children’s graves along with pictures that his children drew of the family. He begins to cry as the feelings overwhelm him.

After he wipes away his tears, he sees that the Undertaker is in the room with Roger’s children holding his hands. His children appear to be like angels with glowing skin and their bodies uncorrupted by their violent deaths. Roger tries his best in trying to tear his children away from the Undertaker but is unable to, so he punches him which makes his children disappear. Roger continues uselessly punching the Undertaker until he grabs the next punch then takes his heart out of his chest.

Despite lacking a heart, Roger is still living even though he is in extreme amounts of pain as his body slowly dies. He is unable to scream, move, or change his fate. The Undertaker then shoves Roger’s heart into his throat until Roger chokes to death. Once he is dead, the Undertaker disappears to attempt to relieve another person of their sorrows.

Sorrowful Heart 2 – Money Can’t Buy Happiness

Even though being rich is a more relaxing life than being poor, it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t come with its challenges. As Christy will tell anyone, her riches are a burden. Because of the position she’s put in, she lives a simple and boring life. Her small but luxurious house has everything she could want. She has a car and personal airplane at the ready to take her anywhere in the world. If that wasn’t enough, she has various gifts and trinkets from her employees. In terms of awards, she has trophies and certificates from every major award event for her charity and efforts to help the needy of the world, however, she doesn’t have any recent awards.

The news she hears is the same as it was when Christy started her career of helping others. A few things might’ve been silenced, but that doesn’t mean she won’t be reminded about them in some way. Books and letters of causes, the history of conflicts and disease, along with ads for charities scatter her office. Her calendar has several days marked for public events that she will speak at while her social media pages are a free space for charities and causes to advertise in. After doing her normal morning activities, she sits to look over the flowers in her garden from her room. A person she assumes to be one of her assistants silently gives her a letter. It says,

“It's time to stop your mourning

It's time to wake to a new morning

Because this is a warning you should know

So you can be saved from your woes

You know what causes you despair

Your time for mourning has been fair

Now rise from your sadness

And taste the sweetness of gladness

The Undertaker of Sorrows is coming after you

He knows what you've been through

He wants you to succeed

But if you fail, he will do more than make you bleed

Your ways have caused others harm

And the state of your soul is cause for alarm

So let go of what causes you sorrow

Or the Undertaker will not let you live after tomorrow”

Before she can question the person who gave her the letter, she looks over her shoulder to see that no one is in the room with her. The room is large, and Christy is on the far end of the room. No one should’ve been able to get out of the room without making noise and it’s been quiet the entire time. The only explanation is that the Undertaker himself gave her the letter himself based on what is known about him. Christy looks around her house to find that no one is home. She checks the working schedules of her assistants to find that no one is working today to confirm her explanation.

Nervous about what she must get rid of, Christy looks through her possessions, gathers the ones that she has the most attachment to, and sends a message to a charity to pick them up. Moments later, she meets a man at the door who has arrived to pick up these possessions. He smiles, tips his hat, and picks up everything surprisingly easily despite how heavy they all are. Christy doesn’t see the man’s face, but when she turns around, she sees a similarly dressed pick-up man. She turns around again to see the Undertaker of Sorrows grin at her, tip his hat, and drive off with her possessions. Seeing that someone has already picked up her possessions, the pick-up man gets back in his truck and drives away too.

Feeling a bit of relief from giving away her possessions, Christy goes back to relax only to find the same letter on her bed in an unopened condition. After reading it again, she looks up to see the Undertaker watering her flowers. He looks up to her with his smile, which pushes her to action. She gathers resignation letters from her employees that note their sorrow in leaving her and gives them to the Undertaker. He shakes his head.

Going through her possession again, she finds letters from her family that detail their concern for her. The Undertaker rejects these as well. Next, she gives him letters from organizations that are about them wondering about her periods of recent inactivity and her meager giving. That isn’t what the Undertaker is looking for. How about a wedding ring? Nope. Past awards? No. Gifts from the deceased who she said she would help? Not even close. Everything in her gives reminds her of her grief. She doesn’t feel like she deserves it because of the people who suffer in the world while she lives in luxury.

There’s only one last thing she can think she could give. She lights her house on fire then gets a knife and cuts her throat in front of the Undertaker who shakes his head and waves his hand in concern as she kills herself and lights all her possession on fire as a sacrifice for those who are suffering in the world. What the Undertaker wanted is more figurative rather than literal. Nevertheless, he moves on from the sad scene to continue his work.

Sorrowful Heart 3 – Back Too Late

Veterans typically find it difficult to reintegrate into society after fighting for so long. One such veteran is named Omar. He wears his old army jacket, pants, and boots. Despite needing food and water, he carries around a newspaper, a pack of smokes, a lighter, a combat knife, and the dog tags of his friends along with his own. He goes back to the places where he and his friends drew graffiti on the walls with his name and the name of his friends still on the wall. The school he used to get is being repaired a large hole on the second floor still prevalent. At the playground he used to frequent even his teenage years, the chalk outlines of bodies are kept there in honor of what recently happened.

In his tour of memories, Omar visits his house, which is a hollow shell of its former self. Every part of the house has been scorched by the fire. While looking around the perimeter of the house, he sees that a letter is under the front door. He goes past the police tape to get it. The letter has his name on it. It says,

“It's time to stop your mourning

It's time to wake to a new morning

Because this is a warning you should know

So you can be saved from your woes

You know what causes you despair

Your time for mourning has been fair

Now rise from your sadness

And taste the sweetness of gladness

The Undertaker of Sorrows is coming after you

He knows what you've been through

He wants you to succeed

But if you fail, he will do more than make you bleed

Your ways have caused others harm

And the state of your soul is cause for alarm

So let go of what causes you sorrow

Or the Undertaker will not let you live after tomorrow”

Omar remembers this rhyme from his past and anything from his past causes him pain. He remembers his time in the army. The intense firefight and the feeling of taking another person’s life is still fresh in his mind as if it just happened. Feeling a need to pray for the dead, he goes to the graveyard. Once there, he prays before his family’s gravestones. Beside their graves, are the graves of his friends who fought alongside him. The weight of his sadness is too much to bear as he begins to cry.

The sound of someone walking in this empty graveyard at this hour of the night stop Omar’s tears in their tracks and catches his attention. He looks over to see the Undertaker of Sorrows praying for the dead alongside him. This startles the veteran so much so that he runs away. Omar runs all the way until he reaches the underside of a bridge. Still nervous about being followed, he looks around every corner until he begins to calm down.

This calm doesn’t last long as he is reminded of his woes when he looks at the graffiti of soldiers fighting in a war on the walls underneath the bridge. Omar covers his head as if running through a hail of gunfire, but instead of being shot at by bullets, he is being assaulted by grief. He keeps running until he runs into a column. After writhing in pain for a little bit, he opens his eyes to see the Undertaker standing over him. This makes him jump to his feet and put a little distance between them.

Knowing that he has nowhere to go, Omar takes out the dog tags of his friends and presents them to the Undertaker. The Undertaker takes them with a hand that comes out of the mouth in his eye then tilts his head to imply that he’s still expecting something. Omar takes out the newspaper that details a few events that deal with his family. The school that his brother and sister were at was blown up by a disgruntled student. Eyewitnesses told the police that Omar’s siblings tried to talk their fellow student out of blowing himself up. Another brother closer to his age was involved in a shootout in a playground where the officer managed to save the lives of others at the cost of his. Their family’s house burned down because of a criminal’s relation to the person shot by his brother in the shootout. Everybody got out okay, but they’re living in another town now.

Despite Omar pledging to protect his family as a soldier, three of them were killed and their house was burned down as a result of his absence. This seems to be a running theme in his life because of him letting his friends die in battle. Omar hands off the newspaper to the Undertaker whose hand in his eye takes it. Still expecting something, the Undertaker makes it more obvious what he wants Omar to let go by having his family’s and friend’s killers and appear beside him. The killers appear the way they were before with marks of their deeds on their heads and body. A skinny version of Omar appears alongside him. The same trouble making one that caused his family grief in his younger years.

Filled with rage, Omar takes out his combat knife. He looks back and forth at the people unsure of who to take his revenge on first. The Undertaker watches in anticipation of what decision he’s going to make. Omar screams as he throws his knife down. Sick and tired of killing and being angry, he gives up his hate for himself and others. The people then suddenly surround Omar in silence. He gives them all a hug as one disappears after the other. Once they’re gone, a weight is lifted from his soul as he falls to the ground to cry.

The Undertaker consoles Omar with a hand on his shoulder. Omar looks up at the Undertaker who appears to be more like an angel rather than a monster. As the morning sun rises, the Undertaker disappears into the light with tears of happiness running down his face. With newfound strength, Omar gets rid of his cigarettes and makes his way to the town where his family now is where they are eagerly waiting for him.

Sorrowful Heart 4 – Isolated in Misery

The wilderness is a place far away from the worries of modern life. If you know what you’re doing, you should be able to make a living in it. After a hunting trip for food, Mark returns with the rewards from his hard work. He spent all last night building traps for animals after studying their habits and placed his traps in the appropriate areas. Once he prepares the meat and skin of the animals in his kitchen, he lets it cook then he goes over to his living room. While looking over pictures of his family and friends, he smiles and nods as if paying homage. The pictures depict some of his loved ones hunting with him in some of them.

A knock at the door startles Mark. As he gets close to the door, a letter slips underneath it. He cautiously opens the door to see no one around. Certain that someone must be around, Mark looks around the area with his hunting rifle in case of danger and finds no one. When he gets back home, he reads the letter. It says,

“It's time to stop your mourning

It's time to wake to a new morning

Because this is a warning you should know

So you can be saved from your woes

You know what causes you despair

Your time for mourning has been fair

Now rise from your sadness

And taste the sweetness of gladness

The Undertaker of Sorrows is coming after you

He knows what you've been through

He wants you to succeed

But if you fail, he will do more than make you bleed

Your ways have caused others harm

And the state of your soul is cause for alarm

So let go of what causes you sorrow

Or the Undertaker will not let you live after tomorrow”

It’s been so long since Mark last thought of what he was sorrowful for that he couldn’t think of anything that he regretted or something that caused him sorrow. When he told everyone he knew that he is going to stay in the wilderness for a while, they reluctantly approved of his decision because normal life was getting to him back then. Untroubled by the letter he goes about his daily activities. By the time he goes to bed, he’s already forgotten about the letter. Even though he might’ve forgotten about the letter, he still has a dream of a lone figure in his dream. The figure stands ominously in the dark forest. When it turns around, Mark wakes up.

Mark shakes off the feeling from his dream to go into his living room to see the letter nailed to the wall. The Undertaker is obviously after him, but he still has no idea why. He thought to himself why he would remember something that would sadden him and what good that would do when he’s already happy as he is. A stitched-together newspaper is placed under his front door. Again, Mark searches for the person who did it and find no one.

The newspaper has the events that Mark regrets. While Mark was working a construction job, part of the building fell in streets which resulted in injuries and deaths. Mark wasn’t blamed for the accident since the equipment was found to be faulty and someone else wasn’t doing their job, however, Mark still felt guilty. During a hunting trip with his family, Mark was about to shoot a deer, but then a man came out of the woods with a knife in his sights. He had already pulled the trigger and shot both the man and the deer, killing them both. Again, another accident that he couldn’t avoid. Tears start welling up in his eyes as he ignores the last accident.

Wondering why the Undertaker is putting him through this, Mark waits for an answer as he still doesn’t know why the Undertaker is reopening old wounds. Another letter comes through the door. He quickly opens and reads it. The letter says to, “Come home”. The thought then occurred to him that he better get back home because his loved ones should be worried about him right now especially since they have no way of knowing if he’s okay. All this time he’s been thinking about himself and not the people that care about him.

Feeling worse about his selfishness rather than his sorrows, he packs his stuff to leave. Before he exits the door, he remembers that the wilderness is a dangerous place especially with all his stuff on his back. Another letter slips underneath the door. This one says, “I’ll protect you”. Not wanting to keep his loved ones waiting, he trusts the letter and heads off. At this time of day, there are predators in the woods along Mark’s path.

While thinking about the first threat, Mark hears a bear in the distance. He hides until he hears it squeal in pain. Curious about what happened while being cautious, Mark goes near to where the sound was and sees an eviscerated bear. Somewhat terrified but comforted at the same time, he moves on. More sounds of danger echo on his path and he gets closer to where he left his car. These are the sounds of wolves hunting for their next meal. Again, he hides while readying his rifle. This time he sees the wolves in the distance. It appears that he will have to take care of this himself. Mark thinks that this won’t be too much trouble since he’s killed three wolves on his own before, however, the wolves are skewered by a passing shadow in no time. Mark lets out a discomforted sigh before moving on.

Mark has finally made it to his car. He checks his fuel levels and sees that he’s running lower than he thought. He looks up to see three people with guns and a gas can with gas in it walking into the forest. One of them notices him near the car and touches the others to notify them of him being there. The one with the gas can drops it as he points his gun at Mark. The two men only take a few steps towards Mark before all of them disappear. Startled, but not too afraid, he gets the gas can where the man put it. As he picks it up, he hears screaming coming from the forest. This makes him quickly fills his car before leaving to go back home. He thanks the Undertaker only to have a piece of paper lodge into his windshield that says, “You’re welcome”, written in what looks to be blood.

Sorrowful Heart 5 – Sinner to Saint

Five inmates are waiting on death row. Inmates are typically visited by the Undertaker of Sorrows while they serve their sentence. He doesn’t visit everyone, but death row inmates see him more often. While waiting one night, each of the five inmates receives the Undertaker’s letter warning them to let go of their sorrows with the worst of them not paying attention to it. After reading the letter, the four think about what they should do. The fifth one does what he always does as he silently keeps to himself in the corner of his room.

During the next day, they receive their items to remember what they did. The first one receives a knife with skin and hair still in it. Even when he touches it, he can still hear the screams of the people whose lives he took, the anger he felt, and the feelings of sadness as the reason for him taking their lives resurfaced. He didn’t want to kill them, but if he didn’t, he felt as if others would suffer. Content with his choices, the first inmate spends his days cutting his room with the knife as if stabbing and slicing those he hated again and again.

The second inmate receives a wallet with some meager change inside it along with the picture of a small family in front of a house. This inmate thinks of the different things she can do with the change she has. Maybe she can kill herself with what she has. It might be slow, but to her, it’s better than waiting for her turn to die. This is all that’s on her mind. The thought of getting over her guilt and what is causing her sorrow is a fleeting thought that appears on and off in her mind. The wallet delivered to her is from an old woman she robbed. With the picture in the wallet, she found the old woman’s family and stole from them as well. Even with all the money she had, she couldn’t escape justice. Now she just thinks of an easy way out.

With pictures of women in flirtatious women, the third inmate remembers what causes him feelings of guilt, however, he tries to get rid of those feelings by pleasing himself. These teenage girls weren’t raised by the best of parents and found themselves molested by this man. Only one of the girls has been found who put the man in jail. The rest are nowhere to be found. This inmate refuses to admit his guilt even as the echoes of the girls’ screams and cries torture him.

Old toys are sent to the fourth inmate, but she does nothing as always. Back in her younger years, she would run away from whatever troubled her whether I’d be financial, murderous, or familial. Even when she gave birth to children, she left them without anyone to care for them. She couldn’t run from everything in the end, so with nowhere left to run she does her other favorite hobby which is sitting down and doing nothing while remembering her “good” days.

Since the things that remind him of his sorrows and guilt can’t fit in the room nor does he have to be reminded, the fifth inmate receives nothing and keeps to himself like always. If he needed a reminder of his life, all he will need to do is look at the scars and tattoos on his body. Even then, he might feel like he’d want to rip at his skin until all the reminders went away. Instead, he waits for his special visitor who will help him take away his pain. While he is still unaware of the letter, he still feels as if should be worried about something happening tomorrow.

The next day arrives faster than the inmates think with all of them feeling anxious. When checking the rooms, the guards are surprised at what they find. The first inmate’s outsides and insides cover every surface of the floor, walls, and ceiling similar to his victims. For the second inmate, she’s lost all of her insides including her skeleton and all that’s left is her oily skin. Inside the third inmate’s cell is an even more horrifying sight with the man’s crotch pulled out. It appears that he bled out in agony until he died. The way that the fourth inmate died is similar but might be even more disgusting. Various kinds of insects and vermin crawl out of her skin and body. From the looks of it, she was eaten from the inside while she was frozen in place.

Knowing how cruel and sinful the last inmate was, the guards brace themselves for what they might see. To their surprise, they find the fifth inmate how he always is with his hands folded in prayer. On closer inspection, the man they once feared appears to have a new face as he appears to be more like a gentle giant instead of a monster. Nothing changed about his appearance physically, but the eyes of the guards are picking up on something their minds aren’t. A Catholic priest enters the room in time for the man’s confession and last Eucharist.

While the man confesses his sins, the officers find the letter from the Undertaker of Sorrows in each of the five cells. Confused about the outcome, the officers go over the fifth inmate’s record. They go over his long list of crimes and wonder if the man is admitting to committing every sin imaginable. The only thing that indicates a change in him is him turning himself in. Again, something happened that they didn’t see.

On the day of his execution, spectators who thought they’d be happy were instead sad for some reason with some even crying. No one could put words to what they were feeling. Before and after he died, the inmate appears to be at peace with a soft smile on his face that no one imagined they would see. The smile almost looks as if belonged to someone else because of who it was on. And thus, another soul is saved from their sorrows as the Undertaker continues his quest to relieve people of their sorrows or of their lives.

The End

“Remember that it is not feeling of guilt that constitutes sin but the consent to sin. Only the free will is capable of good or evil. But when the will sighs under the trial of the tempter and does not will what is presented to it, there is not only no fault but there is virtue.” – St. Padre Pio