Originally posted by Morgana:
Another thought provoking chapter ....
Their first stop was at the morgue, to drop off the clothes Martha had selected for Jonathan’s burial and to confirm the size of the casket needed. Neither was looking forward to it, and Clark had volunteered to take care of the tasks surrounding his father’s funeral and burial himself in order to spare his mother more grief. Martha, however, had decided to go with him, not just because she was worried about Clark, but because these were the last things she would ever be able to do for her husband.
They were together for 23 years, through all that life threw at them -- poverty, hunger, oppression, losing all of their biological children, and seeing their adopted son Reaped into the Hunger Games and come home alive but changed. With Jonathan's death, there were only a few things left to do for him, and Martha wasn't going to shirk her duty to the man she loved.
Jonathan and Clark hadn’t always seen eye to eye, especially about Clark’s extraordinary abilities. Jonathan had feared the consequences of Clark’s strange abilities being discovered and had wanted him to keep them completely hidden once he learned to control them, despite their usefulness on the farm, while Clark, in spite of his confusion and worry over the strange ways in which he was changing, had also been amazed by the unusual things he could do and had wanted to keep doing them. Clark’s desire to use his newfound abilities, at least in private, and his parents’ very real fear of the consequences if the Capitol found out about him had caused numerous arguments.
This is Jonathan as he was originally in the pilot. Quietly guiding his little family, but a little rough around the edges. Oh how I wish we could have listened in on some of the discussions he and Clark had during the teen years!
[/quote]
Being adults, Jonathan and Martha were a lot more cognizant of what could happen if Clark's powers were discovered than Clark, being a kid, was. As it turned out, they were indeed right to worry.
Clark glanced around, seeing the crowd that had gathered for Jonathan Kent’s funeral. He had been well-liked and well-respected; so many people had come to say their good-byes. All of the neighbors the Kents had worked with were there, as were the Rasens, who remembered how kind Jonathan and Martha had been to them when Becky had died and wanted to return that kindness to Martha and Clark now that they had lost Jonathan. Even the Peacekeepers who had been assigned to keep the crowd under control were people who had respected Jonathan, though they stayed back from the rest of the crowd — tensions between the townspeople and the Peacekeepers were still high, even with Thread gone.
It is good that the Rasens came to pay their respects, Becky came from good stock.[/quote]
Yes, the Rasens are good people. Even Becky, in spite of her terror and the fact that she was dying, tried to help Clark when he was exposed to Platinum's Kryptonite pendant before the Games.
The Peacekeepers are smart to do their jobs, but allow the townsfolk 'space'. The mood is ugly and the only thing that is keeping them in check is fear that the Capital will make them suffer. Revolution is in the air...
Thread's attempt to crack down on people when they weren't actually doing anything made people angry when they had previously been fairly tolerant of the Peacekeepers. Many an authority figure has discovered that trying to throw their weight around creates rebellion where none had previously existed.
Pete and Lana stood nearby, trying to offer comfort to Clark and Martha, and even Rachel stood close, having put aside her anger at Clark in light of the tragedy that had struck the Kents. Clark had greeted his friends quietly when they came to offer their support, but mostly he avoided looking at them, keeping his gaze fixed on the casket in front of him.
Good. Perhaps they can put aside their differences and at least be pleasant to one another.[/quote]
Jonathan was always kind to Clark's friends. They mourn his death, too, and they want to be there for Clark and Martha. Rachel is still upset about the end of her relationship with Clark, but she's not petty.
Clark stepped forward, turning to face the crowd. “Dad was … Dad was the greatest. We didn’t always agree on things, but … he stood by me anyway, no matter what. I couldn’t have asked for a better father. When I was Reaped, he gave me advice on what to do to come home safe, and I did. Something happened in the arena — I don’t know what — that angered the Capitol, and the consequences of my actions brought about my father’s death. Not directly, of course — no one laid a hand on him — but just the same, what I did brought him to where he is now.” Clark looked at the casket, the final home of the man who had done so much for him. “I’m sorry, Dad. You’ll never know how sorry I am, and … I’ll never forget you.”
Clark looked back out at the people in the crowd, many of whom gaped at him in shock. He glanced up at the sky, wishing that he could just fly away, then went back to stand beside his mother.
The die is cast ... now the real games begin. President Snow watch out. [/QUOTE]
Clark has reason to be angry with Snow and the Capitol, but he has to get past his anger at himself before he can think of anything else.
