I paid the final instalment on my father’s funeral

Dear Delyara, My father died without insurance, and I borrowed money for the funeral because I could not bear choosing the least expensive option while relatives watched. The loan followed me for five years. Each monthly payment covered flowers already dead, a limousine I barely remembered, and the coffin lowered into the ground long ago. A financial counsellor helped me refinance the high-interest balance, create automatic payments, and stop borrowing whenever another emergency appeared. Today, I made the final payment. I called the lender and asked the employee to confirm there was no remaining interest. She said the account was closed. I visited Father’s grave afterward with the final statement folded in my pocket. I did not feel that I had finished paying for his death; love cannot be calculated that way. I felt relief that grief would no longer appear on my bank statement every month under the name Eternal Memorial Finance. The goodbye remains. The interest has finally ended.