Sophia Green left the three girls at the intersection and cycled home.
As Sophia Green passed a funeral parlor, she glimpsed Kevin Green walk in. She stopped, parked up, and followed him into the store.
"You're… that girl?" Kevin was surprised, "How could you..."
He knew that only people with family funerals would come here. Naturally, he wasn't going to ask her why she was here.
Sophia Green smiled, "I just passed the door of the shop and saw you coming in. I just wanted to ask if there's anything I can do. I'm not busy, and we're classmates, let me know if you need anything. I am willing to help you by any means,"
Kevin forced a smile, "No, thanks. I… just came to get a photo framed. It's needed for the funeral tomorrow. There's nothing else to do. No need to help. I can handle it,"
The shop was very small. There was just a shopkeeper, no other employees. Sophia saw the shopkeeper was busy in front of the printer as a picture of her was slowly coming out of the machine.
She didn't like to have her picture taken. There were very few photos of her. This one, she remembered, was taken by Kevin on his cell phone on her birthday last year. One of her memorable days with her family.
She tore her eyes away and asked, "Can you manage on your own? There's a lot to prepare for a funeral. Don't be polite to me. I have the same name as your sister. It's kind of fate. I'm happy to help. I really wanted to extend my help, Kevin,"
Kevin shook his head, "No, I'm okay... I know you mean well. Actually, my sister had a colleague. He's been helping. Most of the funeral things were taken care of by him. I didn't have to do much."
Sophia Green was surprised, "A colleague?"
Because of the way she worked, she didn't have much interaction with her colleagues at school. She certainly didn't expect any colleagues to take care of her affairs after her death. Who would be that person?
Kevin nodded, "He's a nice guy. I don't know his name. He asked someone to cremate the body and arrange the funeral. I've just done little bits. My sister…" He cut himself off and sighed, "She…she never had a good life, she suffered while she lived and she suffered when she died. Even after she died, there was no way to bury her right away. It's taken more than two months for the police investigation to be completed and only now, finally, can her body be buried. Anyway, it's over. She left a good memory to us; however, her death made us all suffered" A pang of sadness crossed at Kevin's eyes.
Hearing his words, she felt miserable about the life she had had. She couldn't help feeling pity for herself.
She was silent for a while. Then she looked up into Kevin's sad eyes, "Kevin, you must be the one she loved most, right? She must have hoped that even if she died, you would be able to pull yourself together. People die, it's inevitable, and death is not necessarily the end. You have to believe that she may be living a happier life in another world right now!"
Kevin was in a daze for a moment and nodded slowly, "I know. Don't worry. I'll go back to school and continue my life after the funeral and all those things. If I live well and happily, my sister will be happy wherever she is."
Sophia knew him. It would have been a weight off his mind to say that. It was exactly what she wanted to see. If Kevin Green never let go and was always sad, she didn't know what she would do.
She turned to leave. As she walked to the door, she stopped suddenly and asked, "By the way, as there's no school tomorrow, could I attend your sister's funeral?"
Kevin looked at her. He always got a strange feeling with this girl.
He nodded, "It's ten a.m. tomorrow. At the funeral home."
"Got it. See you tomorrow."
On her way home, Sophia wondered who was helping Kevin with the funeral. Was it Principal Lewis from Glinton University? Or some other colleague?
Could it be… Albert Pearson?
Sophia thought about the day she had seen Albert Pearson in the lab. She thought he really was a good man. She had been dead for two months, and he was still there, at the scene of the fire, he had not forgotten her.
It was more than she could have expected from an assistant.
She wondered whether he had found a new job yet. With his ability… he surely could find one easily.
It was too early when she got back, and Kate still wasn't home. Sophia hadn't heard her mention finding new work. It seemed that she hadn't found a job yet. In a big city like Lands City, with so much competition, it wasn't easy.
Sophia wondered if there was some other way she could help. Maybe she could send a resume online.
So she called Kate, "Mom, I want to help you send out your resume online. Do you have any certificates or anything?"
Kate thought for a while, "Yes. There are some certificates in my drawer. Is it useful to send a resume online? I never tried that."
Sophia replied, "Let's have a try. I'll email your resume to some reliable schools, and maybe you'll get an interview."
"That would be great. I've actually got an interview today. Fingers crossed."
Sophia Green hung up. She found Kate's certificates and qualifications, and she made a resume for her online and sent it to some recruiting websites looking for teachers. She had been a professor in her previous life, but she got it through her scientific achievements, so she didn't know much about the rest of the teaching profession. This was all she could do to help her mother.