Raising Laila

Chapter 4 - 'Oh The Places You Will Go'

"Okay," 

"You can bring your bunny, if you want too?" Shireen suggested. 

"No, I don't need it," she said pointedly, dropping the stuffed animal that she had only just realised that she was holding. 

"Okay, that's okay too. Are you ready to get your shoes on to go?" Jade asked kindly going to help with her buckled black pumps. 

"I don't need your help." Laila refused taking the shoes from Jade and going to sit elsewhere. 

She had always been pretty independent, but everybody knew that this was taking it further. Laila had refused any help from anybody and snapped back at them if they tried too. They hoped it wouldn't last long and her stubbornness and attitude would eventually wear off though and she would return to 'normal' although nobody really knew what normal was anymore. 

November 1, 2017: 12.38pm. 

The journey to the church was quiet, nobody spoke and the radio was turned off. Everybody just watched the time go by slowly. The hearse holding the two coffins appeared in front about half way through the trip, the three cars in convey drove slowly through the small town where Jade, Karl and Laila had grown up, past the park where they had played and could picture their father pushing Laila on the swings while Mum laughed from the benches, the grocery store where she would have done the weekly shop and the school Karl and Jade had attended. 

Jade and Karl were sat in the second row nearest the windows, with Laila sandwiched between them, Shireen and Leoni, Karl's eldest daughter sat in the third row, the two youngest of Karl and Shireen's three children had been left with a babysitter or at school for the day, they didn't think that they were quite ready to attend a funeral just yet. 

When they did arrive at the funeral, the grounds were packed full of people some of which Jade recognised and other which she didn't. Family members, friends, neighbours and everybody else, the crowd including Jesy, Leigh Anne and Perrie who had travelled up to support Jade and the family. When Jade climbed out of the car helping Laila out at the same time she smiled slightly in their direction before the doors were opened and everybody took their seats on the benches. They had managed to keep the funeral relatively free from anything to do with Jade's work, while they had chosen to share what happened a couple of days ago on social media, a date to return to work wasn't set yet, which Jade was grateful for she didn't need interviewers asking questions just yet. 

November 1, 2017: 12.54pm 

The church was packed, all of the rows were filled with people squashed in together with even more stood at the back, Jade, Karl and Laila sat in the first row with other family members, grandparents and aunts. 

The coffins were both covered in flowers, the most heartbreaking being the Mummy and Daddy letters spelled out on the floor in front of them. It was difficult to comprehend for an adult that the parents who just a few weeks ago had been so full of life were now completely lifeless in the wooden coffins let alone for an innocent six year old. 

"Are they in there?" Laila asked quietly pointing gently to the coffins as the priest began the service.

"Yeah, their bodies are but they really went up to heaven," Jade whispered in her ear.

The funeral really was beautiful, there were songs and stories that made people both laugh and cry, and towards the end Jade and Karl stood up to give their speech, one that they didn't think they would be able to give but had painstakingly sat for hours trying to get the right words on to the paper, and hoped they would be able to get them all out on the day.