"Meagan, why are you doing this to yourself? You need to seek help, when last did you leave home? Even as those words dripped with care and sympathy, Meagan heard only jargons.
Sitting up abruptly and finding it difficult to maintain the position, Meagan squinted as she looked at Edward O'Hare, her ex boyfriend, who had crept out of his hole when he heard of Mason's death, he was probably hoping to seduce the lonely widow and become the new owner of Stewart group.
"Eddie, I have told you… stop hovering around me!" Meagan slurred the words out, barely audible even to herself, her body became too heavy for her to move.
"Get a grip on yourself Meagan! Your husband's company won't run itself, how can you trust a stranger to run managerial affairs? I heard Mason made you the sole beneficiary of his vast wealth…
At the mention of Mason's name, Meagan's fingers clenched tightly, her body tensed, she was suddenly still, and couldn't hear any other ramblings Edwards spat. Mason was dead, her gorgeous Mason.
Edwards walked to where Meagan sat and held her shoulders, jerking her, when Meagan's eyes met his, she noticed the triumphant glint in his eyes, his nose flared arrogantly.
"The pompous jerk thinks he has won" Meagan's eyes blazed, as she watched his mouth moving, she wondered where would have the most impact if hit him, where the pain would be long term.
"Yes, be angry Meagan, be angry that Mason left you! But remember your new wealth and smile, move on, he isn't coming back….
Meagan lunged forward and bit his lips hard and refused to let go even when he punched, pushed, grunted, until she spat his flesh out, wishing she could take more pounds of flesh.
Edwards ran outside and Meagan allowed herself collapse to the hard ground, as the ray of sunlight touched her face, almost blinding.
"Mason! Come and take me away! You said I was your one true love, you bastard! You promised to buy me a house in Italy, and that we would renew our vows on our thirtieth anniversary, you even said you would allow Magnus, Marcellus and Majesty be your groomsmen and make them watch us kiss!!!
You liar!" Meagans voice came out raw and hoarse, and she broke down at those words, her body vibrating intensely, as the tears flowed freely.
Meagan felt something crawling up her face and jolted awake, sitting up instantly as she swatted it away from her face, she had fallen asleep outside and now it was dark outside.
Dragging herself up, and walking inside reluctantly, then curling up on the only decently neat sofa she picked up Mason's tab and clicked on a video of her sons, it was the previous year, on their birthday.
Smiling and crying at the same time, she watched Majesty standing aloof, and swinging awkwardly on his foot, his hands in his pocket, the bored expression on Magnus, like he couldn't wait to leave the scene, and Marcellus' bright smile as he sang the birthday song, it was obvious he was the only one feeling it.
"Make a wish…" Mason's voice boomed with pride.
"I wish we could donate some of our old clothes and toys to an orphanage and make those kids smile" Marcellus face radiated joy, the shine in his eyes was contagious.
Meagan quickly realized that the message she received earlier was from an orphanage, that was probably Marcel's birthday wish being fulfilled.
"Damn! Way to go Meagan, you can't even fulfill your dead son's wish" Meagan turned off the phone and fell into a restless sleep.
The next morning, Meagan woke up early, with a new purpose for the first time in six months. Picking the first shirt and pants she found she put her hair in a messy bun.
Then headed to the basement where she saw dusty, but neatly packed boxes, with SCARLET ORPHANAGE, written on them.
She moved the boxes, happy to be physically active again, then started her journey, she picked her favorite truck, Mason had it custom to her taste, and she loved it.
As she pulled up to the orphanage, she was greeted warmly by two nuns.
"Um, hi, this is from the Stewarts… Mason…" Meagan bit inside her cheeks, fighting tears.
"Get a grip Meagan, for Christ sake" Meagan reproached herself silently.
In that instant, the nuns' faces changed to one of horror, then sympathy. "Oh honey, we are sorry for your losses, and we are sorry about the message too, it was programmed and we forgot to remove his number"
"No, it's okay, they all wanted this, here, let me show you" Meagan walked to the trunk and picked out the boxes, while the nuns signaled some workers to move it inside.
"Why don't you say hi to our headmistress, she will be delighted" one of the sisters said, and Meagan didn't want to seem rude.
Nodding slowly, she added. "But, I can't be here for long, I have a list of things to do today, I can only spare five minutes" Meagan was sure that they caught on to her lies, because they eyed her with pity.
"Even if it's for a minute, come on" the sisters led the way, and as soon they were yards away from the entrance, kids ran outside all smiles, it seemed it was time for their recess.
Meagan didn't expect it to affect her much, but seeing happy kids did affect her. She couldn't stop the thoughts that went through her head, and time seemed to freeze.
"Did her boys have fun like this? Did they smile like this? Did their teachers love them? She never attended any school function, the sisters didn't know that Meagan wasn't walking with them anymore, that she was stuck to a spot. Her vision blurred and she was having difficulty drawing in breaths, her chest heaved irregularly.
Just then, when she felt the cold sweat bead on her temple, a little girl ran towards Meagan, the wind ruffled her long blonde hair, and even from a distance, her blue eyes shone.
Meagan moved back subconsciously, but the little girl ran and stopped in front Meagan. She was so beautiful, and she wore the biggest smile, with a wave of her hands, she signaled for Meagan to crouch.
Meagan Ignored her, and continued focusing on her breathing, but then, she collapsed weakly to the floor, the guilt ate at her, she felt terrible for her sons.
And the little girl hugged Meagan tightly, her little arms made Meagan uncomfortable at first, then she started singing, whispering some song in a language Meagan didn't know. It sounded ancient, it sounded so pure, so melodious. It was meant for a wounded soul.
And in that instant, Meagan felt peace, a peace so foreign and pure, so beautiful that she did what she hasn't done in a while, she sobbed out loud, a long, heart wrenching sob, filled with just how much pain she felt, but the more the little girl kept singing, the more lighter Meagan felt, her body became pilant and relaxed.
Meagan didn't know she gripped the girl tighter, she just wanted to be buried in that soothing music. She didn't want to leave, for the first time in months, she felt like the confident woman she was before the tragedies.
After what felt like an eternity to Meagan, she opened her eyes, the saw four other feets, wondering who they might be and embarrassed to know that they had seen her wailing like a child, Meagan's gaze landed on faces quite similar to the one in her arms, she drew away from the child instantly, suddenly confused.
"It's okay ma'am, these are my sisters" the little girl's innocent voice made Meagan blink hard and left her in a daze, she was sure the voice she heard earlier was more different.
"It must be the alcohol Meagan, you need to stop over thinking" Meagan forced a smile on her face as she stood up.
"earlier… did you by chance speak, no, sing in a foreign language?" At the child's furrowed brows, Meagan looked away suddenly embarrassed, she must sound like a fool.
"Oh my… you are still here? I thought you left earlier, have you been in the garden all this while?" It was one of the nuns from earlier and Meagan was grateful for the sudden diversion from the three pairs of eyes that assessed her.
"I must have lost track of time, sorry I will leave now" Meagan rushed the words, flustered and walked briskly to leave, but remembering the solace she got earlier, she paused to look at the little girl. "Thank you… for earlier"
"You are welcome, my name is Mahalia, and these are my sisters, Matilda and Maren, we are triplets, what is your name?" the girl's eyes lit up as she spoke and Meagan froze when she heard the word "triplets"