Feeling heavyhearted, I remained silent even after we’d gotten back to the car and driven off.
“Don’t worry. I’ve sent someone to follow John. He’ll be fine!” Anthony said reassuringly beside me.
I looked at him, then replied shortly, “I’m not worried about John. It’s Hannah I’m concerned about. She was clearly in love with John. Why did she suddenly decide to give up their relationship?”
Anthony rested one hand on the steering wheel, his elbow on the door of the car, a picture of placid serenity. With an air of wisdom, he philosophized, “Autumn doesn’t arrive in the middle of spring. And when it does, the leaves on the trees don’t fall all at once. Perhaps Hannah was made to wait for too long and lost hope in the relationship.”
I bit my lip and turned away. Unbeknownst to Anthony, I was no stranger to that feeling.
I’d drifted off to sleep on the drive back, and Anthony had picked me up and carried me straight into the bedroom. I opened my eyes blearily to look at Anthony, who was getting undressed and ready to shower at the side of the room. “I don’t know what’s happening to me lately,” I moaned. “I get drowsy very quickly and feel rather weak.”
Anthony froze at my offhand remark, his hands arrested in the middle of taking his shirt off. He lowered them slowly and turned to me with a peculiar beam on his face. Delighted, he proclaimed, “We’ll make a trip to the hospital tomorrow!”
I found Anthony’s reaction rather bizarre and asked, “Why go to the hospital? It’s not that big of a deal.”
Anthony sauntered over to my side and looked fondly down at me. “Everyone should go for an annual medical checkup. I think it’s been about a year since you last went for one.”
I nodded absently, then lay back down on the bed. Since Anthony had left the bed to me, I sprawled happily across its entire width while sighing in satisfaction and comfort.
It was the beginning of winter, and the temperature in K City had plummeted sharply. Anthony was insistent on sending me to the hospital and was up and about early in the morning. I’d been disturbed from my sleep by his bustling about and sat in the living room still yawning, half-awake.
That morning, Anthony had poured out some cereal for both of us. “Would you like some chopped nuts?” he asked, popping his head out of the kitchen.
I nodded, my eyes teary from the multiple yawns I’d just unleashed. “Sure.”
It was a cold, misty morning. I couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of stepping out into the frigid air and made a mental note to myself to don a few more layers before leaving.
Anthony emerged from the kitchen with the two bowls of cereal in hand. He placed them on the table, then added, “Would you like some pancakes as well?”
I sneezed, then sniffed at Anthony, “No need. I’ll just have the cereal. Since we’re going to the hospital, why don’t we drop by my Mom’s place and bring Summer along? We can get her checked out at the same time.”
Anthony agreed. “Let’s eat, then!”
Without another word, I slurped the cereal noisily. Anthony gave me a look, then chided, “Can’t you eat a little more gracefully?”
I felt thoroughly humbled, like a child who had just received a smack on the wrist.
Just then, I recalled that Nora was back in K City, so I reminded Anthony. “Nora’s back in K City. We should bring her out for a meal to catch up and play the host. Besides, I don’t feel too safe leaving her to Armond.”
Anthony nodded, then replied, “All right. Ask her over to stay, then, or arrange for her to stay in a hotel. It isn’t safe anyway for a woman to be wandering around K City alone.”
“Armond won’t hurt her, will he?” I asked anxiously. Ever since the incident at the warehouse, my opinion of Armond had been totally turned on its head. I was thus a little wary of whether Nora could be entrusted to him.
Noting that I had finished my cereal, Anthony nudged his bowl of cereal over to me. “You’re hungry, aren’t you? Eat up!” he encouraged.
I felt a sense of warmth within me. Actually, I wasn’t that hungry, but I ate the rest of the cereal with pleasure anyway.
I’d actually wanted to probe more into the matter, but Anthony forbade me. “We can talk later. Finish your breakfast first.”
Anthony had always been rather traditional this way. He firmly believed we should be focused on gaining nutrients rather than information during meals between the two of us.
With that, I nodded docilely, then finished the rest of the cereal before me.
After breakfast, I dawdled a little all the way to the door, putting on my shoes slowly in the hallway. Anthony had gone ahead to start the car. Just then, my phone rang shrilly in my bag. I fished it out only to see Mrs. Brooks’ name flashing across the screen. I answered, “Mrs. Brooks!”
Before she could even speak, I felt a rush of woe over the phone. Mrs. Brooks gave a long sigh, then said, “Mrs. Featherstone, Renee passed away last night. She said she wanted to be buried with her mother. I brought her back to K City with me today. I don’t have any close friends or family, and you were probably the one who showed her the most affection in this life. If you have time to spare, Renee’s grandfather and I would like to invite you to her funeral.”
My mind went blank. Anthony had already driven the car out to the front. However, I remained in my seat, staring ahead blankly as my head throbbed.
Anthony leaped out of the car and ran up to me, puzzled. “What’s wrong?”
I hadn’t hung up the phone, so Mrs. Brooks’ voice drifted over the line, fearfully asking, “Mrs. Featherstone, are you there?”
“I’m here,” I snapped. I was choking up and struggled to get the words out of my throat. With a frown, Anthony eyed me as he placed an arm around my shoulders.
“Renee will be buried at Woodhills. She said she wanted to lie next to her mother,” Mrs. Brooks declared through her tears, her voice hoarse. She’d evidently spent the past few days mourning.
I made a small sound of acknowledgment. Heartbroken, I drew in a deep breath and said, “All right. We’ll come over in a while, Mrs. Brooks.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Featherstone,” Mrs. Brooks sniffled in a low voice. We then ended the call somberly.
When I placed my phone back in my bag, Anthony squinted at me with obvious disquiet in his eyes. “What happened?”
I paused, then said brokenly, “It’s Sasha’s daughter, Renee. Her grandparents did not continue her treatment and brought her to Turlen instead. Renee passed away mid-journey, and her body will arrive in K City today to be buried.”
Anthony frowned. After a moment of silence, he suggested, “Can we go over after we’ve visited the hospital?”
I shook my head. “Let’s go to the airport. We’ll accompany them all the way to the cemetery.”
Anthony agreed after some deliberation. “OK, I’ll come with you.”
The news of Renee’s sudden departure had stupefied me. I’d always held out the hope that as long as she endured this present suffering, she’d eventually recover.
Never would I have expected that that would be the last time I saw her.
When we got in the car, Anthony took my hand in his, his warm hand soothed me. I glanced sideways at him and said weakly, “That kid, I…”
“You did your best!” He patted me and said comfortingly, “Don’t blame yourself. You did what you could, so just leave the rest in the hand of fate. The child came and left this world as a pure person, and this is probably the best way out for her. that she left. It’s the people who are left behind that suffer the most.”
Yeah, those left behind without seeing any hope in life are the people who suffer the most.
Sasha’s parents were already waiting when we arrived at the airport. Their hair had turned white, and their faces were now covered with wrinkles and vicissitudes of life since I last saw them. Looking at the two of them made me heartbroken. They had gone through so much suffering and even had to deal with the passing of their own child and even their grandchild. Most people could never imagine the number of distressing events they had gone through in their lives.
When they saw us, Sasha’s mother, who probably had cried her tears dry, looked at me with a dry smile. “Mrs. Featherstone, we’ve troubled you too much. We can never repay your kindness in this lifetime.”
I shook my head slightly and looked at her. “Mrs. Brooks, don’t overthink this. Come, get in the car!”
Sasha’s father was not a man of many words. Thus, he remained silent throughout the ride as he hugged Renee’s urn tightly. The sight caused tears to well up in my eyes.
As we headed toward Woodhills Cemetery, I noticed that the couple’s faces were both filled with exhaustion, most likely because they had not rested well in a long time.
I had originally wanted to take them to eat something first, but judging by their expressions, they probably could not stomach anything. I sighed softly and gave up that thought.
Woodhills Cemetery was the largest cemetery in K City, in which a small area of land already cost tens of thousands. When we arrived, the elderly couple got off the car and walked over to a burial plot that they had bought.
Anthony and I merely followed behind them as they walked. Shane’s gambling addiction had caused the family to lose most of their relatives, and since Renee was also ill, the two elderlies were the only people present to send Renee off.
The lonely, empty funeral neither had a stream of people coming to see Renee off nor any flowers. Only the two empty-handed elderly were there.
Unable to stand it any longer, I looked at Anthony and said, “Can you get the funeral home to send over some funeral items for children? It’s Renee’s last journey, so we should let her go happily.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.
Leave a Reply