The plain black dress Skyla adorned flapped around her dainty ankles. The harsh dry winds of the autumn season swirled the dead leaves and Skyla felt her heart had died too.
Holding two black roses in her shaking hands, her fiery hair blew out of her messy bun as she stood near her parents' graves and vacantly stared at the epitaph on her father's.
It read.
[Adam Waston (1972-2023)
An exemplary husband and a loving father. Your body may lie here but you will forever live in our hearts.]
He had been buried beside his wife as per his wishes, leaving Skyla alone to face the world. The tears dripped from her eyes and were buried in the soil above her father's grave, carrying her pain and sorrows.
"I am withholding the promise I made you dad. I am marrying him soon and one day I will get our company back. I am going to give him a chance by being a good wife as I promised you."
She unburdened her heart and placed the roses on their graves. Her trembling hand rested on the soil as she affectionately rubbed it. Trying to feel closer to her parents by any means.
Her heart clenched and she clutched the front of her dress to somehow ease it. It radiated through her body, making her whimper. Her lips quivered uncontrollably
"Why did you have to leave me an orphan in this wretched world? Why didn't you prepare me for the evils that lurk on every corner?" she fretted, as the cold wind rustled through the trees, sweeping away her laments.
There was no answer yet but the universe heard it and it always answered at its own pace.
Skyla kneeled closer to her parents and stayed there until the evening shadows began to prolong. She said her goodbyes and left the cemetery.
Back in her car, she extracted her phone from the glove compartment and checked the call log. Her family attorney had called her twice. The task she had given him must have been completed. She dialled his number and he picked up on the second ring.
"Good evening! Miss Skyla, I was calling to inform you that the transfer deed you asked for has been prepared. Your family villa has officially been sold. The money will be transferred to you today."
His words hurt deeper than she had imagined they would. Mr. Adams had left his villa to his daughter but knowing the intentions of her greedy fiancé she knew it wouldn't be long before he would usurp it too.
So, she took drastic measures and sold it. She had plans on how to distribute the money.
"Thank you for all the help, Mr.Hasler. I will be heading over to the villa now. I need to say goodbye to my childhood home." Skyla cut the call after that. With shimmering eyes that fought back tears, she started her car and headed to the place she used to call home.
Without her parents, it was no longer a home. Just a structure which held memories that would pain her. Reaching it, she stopped the car and stepped outside on the driveway.
Moving vans were already there, she had only decided to take her essentials and the rest was to remain in the villa and some antiques were to be auctioned off. She wanted all the money that would be collected from auctions, to go to cancer charities.
Skyla stood in front of the majestic villa and a forlorn look descended on her face. Echoes of her mother's laughter as she tended to the flowers and her father's encouraging words while he taught her to swim and ride a bike, still lingered.
This place held a lifetime of memories but with her parents gone, she could no longer bear to stay here.
Madame Maven was overlooking the whole process. She had taken over the motherly role after the death of Skyla's mom. The middle-aged woman had been with their family for more than 25 years.
"You alright dear? I know this was the hardest decision you had to make," she placed her reassuring hand on Skyla's shoulder and she sniffled.
"I am far from being alright but this needed to be done. Thank you for being my support," the wounded smile on Skyla's lips made the elderly woman embrace her. Skyla had grown up in her hands and she couldn't see her suffering like that. Both ladies cried for a while before gathering themselves up.
Skyla excused herself and moved towards the vast gardens of the villa. Her destination was the one-winged angel fountain her mother had erected in the garden.
The white marble fountain shone and glistened as freshwater churned out of it and made soft sloshing sounds.
"Mom, why the angel fountain?" Skyla had asked when it was constructed.
"So it will always watch over us," she had answered, kissing the head of her little girl.
"But it has only one wing. Why?" Skyla had innocently questioned, pointing to the wing.
"To show those who care and protect are not always whole themselves but that doesn't deter them from keep trying, keep helping those in need."
Her answer had remained stuck with Skyla and she had promised herself she would always help those who would require it, no matter her own circumstances.
She hazily watched the fountain of hope and then another flashback from some months ago flashed in her mind. The moment her life was toppled and left her on the verge of such a crossroads.
That day was when Doran Blackthorn had walked into her life and wrecked it. And that happened right before this fountain. Had she known the type of man he was, she would have made different choices.
A few months back she was a happy carefree girl with no plans of marriage and yet here she was. Standing all alone contemplating her life and the future choices she would have to make.