ELEVEN YEARS

Prologue

29th day of May 2012. The sky was dim as the rain poured heavily on Earth along with the roaring thunder, contributing to the gray atmosphere around the area of the burial. Yards from there, the mourning and wailing of the loved ones can still be heard as they watch the coffin being lowered deeper underground into the dark soil surface.

Near the dug hole, an old lady wearing all-black who might be the mother of the woman inside the coffin, stumbled from grief so much that she could barely toss the lily she was holding. As she mourned, a man reached out and helped her, which other people said was the husband. It was difficult, but the man managed to get the lady back up on her feet, though the lady is still standing fragilely and shaking as if she doesn't have the courage and stamina to stand, while the man was also struggling to hold her as he was also sobbing. It was tough for him, it goes without saying, because it was his wife who died.

Looking at the surroundings, a lot of people were standing, and some were just sitting on chairs as they watched the burial and the scene happening near it.

Another old lady, who was also wearing all-black, needless to say, as it is always a theme for funerals, might be a rival of the mourning lady because she glared at her and maybe did not even feel sorry for the deceased.

"They can't even pay their debt", said the lady, then she added, "Plus, that woman had some serious conflict with me just the month before her daughter died", she said to the middle-aged woman sitting next to her. "About what? ", the woman asked. "Well, we got into an argument regarding the property inherited from our parents, which should be divided into fair portions, but they got the portion that should be rightfully ours", said the lady. "So, I spoke my sentiments, and then that woman spoke too." She pointed at the mourning lady. "Of course, she defended her side and told everyone that we got equal portions and that I'm being a massacre idiot", she added. "But everyone knew in our family that I had always wanted that portion, and I was always on the reservation, so was it even fair? "

The woman sitting next to her was just speechless, then rolled her eyes. The old lady did not know that the woman she was talking to was a friend of the deceased.

"Yeah, pathetic", said the woman. "What? ", the old lady asked. The woman did not respond and had just cut off the conversation.

At the corner of the tent stood a girl who was holding back her tears with a heavy heart. Her sobbing best friend noticed her and went to her, still sobbing, and said, "Prim? ", then added "Let it out", she said in a gentle yet sad tone of voice. The girl looked to the ground, and she could feel the pain in her chest.

She was vulnerable enough, though, that the tears soon filled her eyes and began trickling down her cheeks a few seconds later. Even though she was crying, she mustered the strength to walk through the crowd and to the pit, where she was able to throw the flower and view her mother's coffin for the very last time.

She broke down in tears when she realized once more that the person inside the coffin was her own mother—the person who gave birth to her and is the one who loves her the most. She had neither the fortitude nor the will to get back up, despite the efforts of a few individuals, most notably her sister.

Nobody was able to soothe her. She shed the most tears of all the hundreds of people that came to the funeral.

Shortly after the funeral, her father got her to get up and fed her while the other family members began to eat as well, with a few having already eaten. Her father grinned subtly as she accepted the dish and expressed her gratitude.

Even when her father calmed her down, the ideas continued to race through her head.

After the funeral, everyone left, except for the nearest relatives, and it took an hour for the place to be nearly empty.

"I'm really sorry for your loss", said the other old lady. " 'your loss'? ", the mourning lady said, "Shouldn't it be 'our' loss? ", she added. "Oh, really, do all these things require conflict? ", the old lady said. The mourning lady did not respond. Without further word, they turned away from one another.

Of course, the reason they remained was that the girl would not stop crying and they were having difficulty soothing her.

After noticing his sister while meandering through the cemetery, the youngest son went to sit next to her. After approximately thirty seconds of staring at her sister's face, he recognized what her sister needed. He hugged his sister, and she may have gotten some temporary calmness from his loving embrace.

The boy got her sister to stand up, and he wiped her sister's tears. He managed to assist her while walking by holding her hands.

They reached their car, and he also helped her sister in entering their car for they would be going home already, along with them is the mourning old lady from earlier, their grandmother.

The car was completely dead silent on their way home, with their father as the driver. It wasn't that awkward, because each of them was minding their own thoughts and business, not having the mood to speak to each other after what happened.

After traveling nonstop for an hour and a half, they eventually arrived at their home.

It was more difficult for them to accept the death of a loved one in the drab atmosphere. They did not bother to make dinner at all.