Farewell

Her eyes were supposed to shed tears endlessly, her mouth was supposed to mourn for her mother's loss, her heart was supposed to rip apart at the news and her state was supposed to collapse but nothing happened. And she stood there, blank and expressionless. 

She simply sat on the bench and waited for her mother's body to be packed. Not a word formed on her tongue neither her mind was able to think anymore. 

Only thing which kept poking her whole existence like a sharp needle was, "I lost both of them, one by one". 

Frozen state, cold hands, deserted eyes and dry mouth, nothing bothered her. It all suddenly felt like a part of her. What can she do now? There was nothing left, everyone left her one by one. 

'you came alone in this world and you shall leave alone' she remembered when her father told her. She was about 8 years old so she couldn't understand the meaning behind it but now it all seemed to fix at the right moment. 

Her eyes suddenly fixed on her dress, which had dirt stains on it. Then she looked at her hands and they also seemed to be untidy. How can she even touch her mother in such state? 

She needed to be clean. She can't bid farewell to her mother like this. She needs to put on her best dress and look beautiful so her mother could remember her forever. 

Hurriedly, losing all of her sense and consciousness, she ran out of the hospital and towards her home. 

She opened the door of her empty house and rushed inside. She opened her wardrobe immediately and looked out for that black maxi dress which her mother got her made on her high school party. 

Looking out for the matching sandals, she placed everything on the bed. 

Hastily she took a quick shower and put on everything. 

She can't make her mother wait. She need to be there for her as quick as possible. She thought untypical. 

Letting her hair fall around her bare shoulders, and then she rubbed a balm on her patched lips. Not a hint of agony or pain in her eyes. 

She didn't realized the way she was acting abnormally. 

She remembered that she forgot her phone in that old store room after receiving the call. She hurried to that room and opened the rusty door. 

She looked for her phone which was placed with that ragged journal. Her eyes couldn't leave that last piece of her mother's memory, so she picked it up and not caring about dirt on it, she pressed it against her lips, trying to feel her mother's touch on it. 

Keeping it close to her chest, she picked her phone and rushed out of the house. 

On her way, she stopped at that flower shop again. 

She wanted to give her mother those favourite orchids for the last time, so she could rest in peace. So she can bloom like them after life. 

"Well nice to have you again" the same woman greeted her with a warming smile. 

Not caring about it, she asked her for the same purple orchids again. 

"Here you go" she motioned the orchids towards her, their enchanting smell same as ever. 

Nothing made her heart stir, she took it plainly and handed over the last money she had. 

The woman out of courtesy, thanked her again like before. The thoughts fumbled up in her mind but she didn't dared to ask the poor girl. 

'everyone has a tough life, but poor girl! She is already facing the harsh reality of life at such a young age' she pitied. 

"May I ask your name if you're my regular customer?" She called out on her back as Ruby turned around to leave. 

"There's no need, this was the last time" Ruby replied without turning around and left. 

*

"I didn't expected her to die so early, but that's alright after all everyone has to go one day, today or tomorrow." He commented while he leaned down on his arm chair. 

Joseph couldn't digest the words but after all it sounded like a bitter truth. 

He informed Dawson, the moment she passed away. He went himself at the hospital where her surgery was carried out. The only tingle his heart felt was for that girl who didn't even shed a tear not mourn for her mother's loss. 

She became mute, and it was more worse than crying her heat out. He tried to inform Dawson about her current state but he didn't seem to be interested in her condition because it was a casual thing for that cold blooded man. 

"What we have to do next sir?" He asked kindly, as he held the schedule of meetings for today. 

"Tell me about the meetings first, do we have a tight schedule today? Or any worthy meeting?" He asked as he cut his steak professionally with knife and plucked it on his fork, only to bless his taste buds the next moment. 

"Sir at 11 am you have a interview meeting with newly employed manager of financing department. 

At 12:30 pm you have meeting with 'precision builders' a construction company whom we're going to hire for our new project. 

And......" He was cut off between as he looked up at Dawson with confusing eyes at the sudden interruption. 

"Joseph you're tiring me, I'm in a good mood today. I asked you for important ones. Schedule these all meetings for tomorrow and adjust them. We have a more important work to do today" he amusingly smirked at his own intentions. 

"What important work sir?" He asked curiously. 

*

Her mother's coffin was now in front of her. Not far from her was the cross of Christianity, as she stood alone in a church. 

Cleric stood at front who recited some verses from his bible. She silently looked at the face, she used to admire alot. The face she grew up with in her eyes all the time, the scent of her mother she was used to, her voice which still rang in her ears. 

The sleeping face of her mother, still looked same as ever. She seemed to be in a deep sleep and satisfaction. After all Samantha was a kind woman. 

The orchids in her hands were still fresh as they awaited to reach their respective destination. 

Her hands were freezing and mind was in a haze, no expressions or glint of sorrow, the wise men stepped forward to cover the coffin and take it for burial. 

Her hands and legs shook as they reached close. They slid the cover, taking away the last sight of her mother from her eyes. Her face gradually disappeared behind the wooden cover and Ruby felt herself helpless. 

They picked up the coffin on their shoulders and took slow steps towards the exit, taking it to graveyard. She followed them silently, like a baby who only knows to follow her mother wherever she goes. 

Her heart was calm, it wasn't beating violently in fear anymore as it used to whenever her mother got sick. 

She followed the men as they took the coffin to graveyard. They entered the graveyard where stillness and tranquility lied. Where people slept under the soil, and their souls travelled to another world. Where alive feared dead. Because everyone is scared of reality and truth as it has always been bitter and this temporary world is a pretty lie which shall fade away one day. 

But she wasn't afraid of anything, she wasn't scared of losing anything like other people who feared their lives, money, health and happiness. She had nothing to lose anymore. 

Everything disappeared from her world like a flower wilts down and never grows up again. 

The men placed the coffin on the ground beside the grave which was dug deep. She watched intensely as they slowly and carefully moved the coffin inside the graveyard. 

Her consciousness started screaming, everything seemed to fade down around her. Her world was crashing, the walls were turning into bare sand. Her consciousness became violent to raise a word, wake her heart from its deep slumber, to form endless tears but nothing was working. 

As they started to fill up the grave with soil, she found herself breaking down into tiny pieces, shattering down like a glass whose little pieces fell so far that it couldn't be collected, and the who touches it, hurts itself instead. 

"I didn't expected you to leave me so soon" her mind whispered to the half filled grave. 

As they filled up the grave, the undertaker placed the name plate on the head side of grave, on which her mother's name was etched along with the mention of her father. 

She didn't realized the women around her from her neighborhood, until they placed flowers on her grave and passed their condolences to her. 

She didn't replied to either of them and just kept looking in the direction of her freshly buried mother. 

Soon all the people left as she didn't paid any necessary attention to any of them. But they didn't mind as they thought the girl was too young to bear such a big loss. 

Now she stood alone there, not a hint of sound and humans around her. 

She took a heavy step forward and placed those orchids lightly on the grave. 

"Goodbye mama" the words merely escaped her lips when her mind, not able to take it anymore broke down at once. Everything around her darkened as she was taken into a sleep drive, and instantly into a dream, too early to identify it as a nightmare or a daydream. She collapsed and fell onto the ground.