33 // Chameleon

My aunt left two instructions regarding her funeral while she was still alive: mainly, for her funeral not to be prolonged, and to celebrate her life. She requested to be buried the very next day after her actual death, and for a feast to be held in celebration of her life.

Perhaps for the community she spent her entire life serving, it was a merry event.

But that was not the case for the rest of us, my mother masked her grief with chatter, jokes, and laughter, and slipped quite a few times and called for my aunt. She was deep in denial, and more than anything, she was drowning in guilt because she dedicated her entire life to pushing away her only sister.

As for me, my entire world turned gray. The world was colourless and lifeless, everything in me had died. I was also plagued by the guilt of the way I treated her the last time I saw her.

Although she had said returning to my parents was for my own sake, I couldn't help the feeling that she had abandoned me. Now that I thought