Isla stood there, her eyes red from crying too much , but right now she wasn't crying. She had cried enough. Her heart felt heavy as she watched her mother who was now placed in the coffin and people who didn't even know her before are now just reciting their prayers and telling Isla how sorry they are for her. But again, she felt nothing, as if her heart has stopped working the moment doctor told her that her mother is no more.
She had immediately called George who somehow came in the hospital in five minutes along with Leo.
Everything is haste since then. Everything is blurry . George had taken care of the funeral and Isla didn't really mind it.
The most important person in her life, the only family she ever had is now dead. What does she have to be upset now?
"Isla, " she heard George say her name and soon a hand was placed on her shoulder .She looked up to see George looking at her with pity and sympathy in his eyes. " Say goodbye to your mom one last time." He said as he gestured towards the coffin where Jennifer petite body was placed.
Isla choked on her breathe, suddenly feeling the gravity to drop on her.
She walked forward, each step hesitant, as if she don't want to do that chore. She knelt in front of her mother who was looking as if she is in deep sleep wearing all white .
"Mom," she started but didn't knew what to say and yet she wanted to say many things. " Why?" She cried , voice barely audible as she kept looking at her mom, who wasn't replying and will never reply. " Why did you left me alone, mom? What am I supposed to do?" Tears continued to fell of her beautiful face.
Leo stood at some distance as he watched the heart felt interaction between mother and her daughter. He felt bad for her even though he don't know Isla that well but he felt bad nonetheless.
" I am all alone, mom." She whispered but George came towards her and made her stand on her feet.
"No. You are not alone. You have me, you have Leo too." He said and Isla turned in his side , crying her heart out at the lost .
As much as the words were soft and reassuring but Isla felt none of it. She felt all alone in this world no matter how hard people try to convince her other wise.
Her eyes widened when she saw that people are now ready to place the coffin in the grave. No. She wasn't ready for this. She will never be ready for this.
And so she broke herself free from the hold that George had on her and ran towards the coffin, trying to stop the people from placing her mother under the ground.
This can't happen. They shouldn't do something like that.
A pair of strong arms encircled around her waist, stopping her from doing anything.
Isla didn't care about who was holding her down, she just tried to break free again but it was all vain. She screamed at them to stop but her screams were ignored and in return she just got sympathy looks which she hates the most.
She leaned back, resting her head against the broad chest as she continued to cry her heart out.
Soon everything was black and she fainted but Leo had a secured grip on her , preventing her from falling on the ground.
....
After waking up she saw that she was in a unfamiliar place. The room was white and clean. White colour was little too much.
She remembered what happened . She had fainted. As she looked around, her breath got hitched as she saw Leo sitting by the bed on a chair looking at her with worry in his beautiful brown eyes.
" How are you feeling? Are you okay? " He asked, his voice husky and holding the authority.
They were strangers , completely strangers and it felt weird to talk to him so Isla just nodded.
Leo gave her a glass of water which Isla took as she sat straight on the bed, her black dress complimenting the white bedsheet.
She drank it and look at Leo before asking.
" Where am I?" Her voice came out timid, just the way she was feeling.
" We are dad's place. It was the nearest from the cemetery." He explained and Isla nodded.
"I wanna live at my place for a while." She said and Leo said nothing, instead just nodded.
...
Isla was now sitting on the sofa at her old home. After funeral, she had requested to be alone for some days. She really needed some time alone, George was against it at the beginning but gave up when he knew that forcing Isla was not really a good choice to make.
Their house was small, cheap apartment, with one room, hall and kitchen. But it was enough for both of them, in fact, it was more than enough.
The small apartment right now felt so big that it was almost haunting. Isla was so used to having her mom around the home that her chest feels heavy as she now knew that her mom is buried deep inside the ground, unable to reach her, unable to protect her.
She misses her so much that words can't be enough. It has just been one day since her funeral but it feels eternity to her.
She entered the room were they used to sleep since forever and that brings all the memories they had there.
All the night talks they used have or all the times she had her head placed in her lap now haunts her.
She sat on the bed and ran her hand on it , feeling the smooth sheets that still had the scent of her mother.
Tears ran down her face independently. She cried that night till she fell asleep.
...
Each day has been the same since then. It has already been a week since the funeral and Isla had done nothing but dwell in her sadness.
George has called her multiple times, only to be ignored by her. She is not looking forward to talk to anyone.
The only friend she has she now studying in Japan which has a complete different time zone , making it hard for her to communicate with her.
On top of that ,she is barely eating anything and if she does eat then it is just some frozen yogurt that really does nothing to her body.
She had gotten a lot paler and thinner in this week Time but she doesn't care. Call her naive but what will you expect from a twenty years old girl who had lost her last family?
She was sitting on the sofa, holding on the photo frame of her and Jennifer ,clicked when she had completed her high school.
A door bell rang and that made Isla startle a little because no one generally visit them, they knew no one here.
She gingerly made her way towards the door and opened it.
Her eyes widened a little as she saw the face of the person who was standing in front of her
Leo.
" Hello. I am here to take you home."