Shiri's funeral

Shiri had always loved the moon, so it made sense that she chose the moonlight to guide her spirit to the other realm. It was a dark, clear night and the crescent shape shone bright. The pile of logs cast a short but clear shadow on the woodland floor. The wind softly rustled the dried leaves placed on top of the pyre. Sparks from the torches fluttered to the heavens as we stood there in a circle.
Each of us held our Spirit amulets tightly in a closed fist. Mine has the shape of a bear. Stout, but with kind eyes. A butterfly etched on its back, the symbol of my spirit-bond. As we stood there, most had their eyes closed and all whispered soft wishes for Shiri's soul. She was the sister of my best friend. She passed in her 19th winter. The cold and a bad harvest made it too difficult for her to overcome her illness. If only she had survived one more year she could have bonded her spirit too. Now her spirit was still bonded to her mother. Who was utterly devastated. I could physically feel how much she struggled to utter her wish for her daughter. After she had finally finished her wish, our Spirit guardian walked the circle and collected all of our amulets. The disk he put them on had the amulet of Shiri secured in the middle. Hers was a crescent shape with 2 qua'thal's wings. One of the wings had broken off as she had carved them too thin and too vigorously. All the other amulets lay around hers on the disk.
Our guardian hung the disk above the pyre. The moonlight cast small spots of light through the holes in the disk on her body. Like the dapple of sunlight through the woodland canopy on the understory. Then it was as if the canopy violently opened and sunlight burst through with great force as the fire took hold of the dried leaves. The light faded a little as it tried to finger its way to the base of the pyre.
After a while the whole pyre was ablaze. Shiri's body engulfed in waves of fire. The flames licked, caressed and embraced the amulets placed on the disk. Small flying embers lifted our wishes to the skies, along with her spirit. Weaving her spirit into the world like a spider's thread. All was still now. Our hearts emptier, but the world fuller and more connected. In the spring she would return to us, for us to admire the beauty of the spirits again as the flowers bloomed in the meadows. All was still now.