I was gifted a macabre Rubik's Cube.

"And this one is for Tanner. I just know how much he loves puzzles. He'll love my gift."

I perked up from my chair and abandoned the La Brea Tar Pits jigsaw puzzle I'd been putting together on the kitchen table, and proceeded to head to my uncle Marty, who had a red gift box sitting in his lap. It was wrapped up with a sparkling, golden ribbon that wavered in its own rhythm.

"Happy Birthday, Tan," he said with a smile as handed me the gift with his veiny, coarse hands.

"Thanks, uncle Marty!" I squealed back, snatching the gift with all the excitement of an 8-year old who was receiving gifts on his birthday.

I greedily started ripping apart the gift, hoping to reveal its hidden contents. When it was all done and said, I saw, in the center of the box...

A Rubik's Cube.

I sat there, inspecting the colorful array of tiny cubes comprised to make a gigantic cube. They were all mishmashed and were not matched to their exact colors. At the time, I hadn't played a toy like it before. My friend Heath had one, and he'd shown me how to play with it. Basically, you had to match the little cubes to their exact color. But I'd never played it at all. I was ecstatic.

"So, ye like 't?" Uncle Marty asked with a smirk. A smirk I would later find hid malicious intent.

"I LOVE it!" I yelled out, and ran over to hug him tightly. He returned the favor and hugged me tighter. Afterwards, I grasped the Cube and excused myself before heading upstairs to be left on my own, with my mind set on solving the Cube.

Looking back, I shouldn't have even touched that damned thing. I stayed up all night cooped up in my room, attempting to decode the multicolored cube to no success. Eventually, I gave in to my weariness from my birthday party and ended up falling asleep at an unknown time.

I was so tired, in fact, that I could have slept for half a day if my mom hadn't burst into my room with tears falling down her face at a rapid speed. She kind of reminded me of Niagara Falls.

"H-hey, Tanner. W-wake up. Y-you have to put this suit on. W-we're going to a f-funeral. Y-your dad...(sob)...your dad...(sob)...he died."

I remember joining my mom as we both bawled our eyes out at the news. My dad, someone who raised me, who I looked up to, who I laughed, cried, and played with, who I loved, had just...passed on. It felt so surreal, especially since my dad was one who kept his health intact and worked out on a basis. I couldn't piece these together at all. It..it didn't make sense.

The gloomy and murky looks on everyone was repeated during my dad's funeral, if I recall correctly. I remember crying in hushed tones as my mother would not allow me to make a big scene. After the service, my family was first in line to witness my dad's body and view him for the last time. As I stared back at his dead, cold corpse, I noticed that his clothes were mismatched, which reminded me very much of the Rubik's Cube I was unable to solve. This slight coincidence would come into play, as I'd later find out.

After we all took a peek at my dad's body, we left to go back home. Unfortunately, the funeral wasn't technically over with, since some of the guests came over to comfort me, my mom, and my brother.