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Chapter 1
“She had a long battle, juliet. It was time for her to rest. I'm sure she is in a better place now” A sad smile appeared on Juliet's face as she looked up at her mom's personal nurse of two years, Gloria. Why did everyone keep saying that to her. Did They want her to feel bad that she was sad, was it wrong for her to be sad?. Why couldn't she grief how she wanted? Why did she have to pretend like she was strong when she wasn't. All she wanted to do was cry out loud, but she knew if she did so she would hear those same words again.
“Thank you, Laura.” Juliet simply said as she older woman leaned in for a hug and left after saying a few more words. Juliet walked back towards her living room, where a few people still remainedafter the wake was over. Mrs Willams From her mom's support group had a smile on her face as she gossiped with two other women juliet could barely recognise. They were probably gossiping about her? Maybe not, but didn't they look so cheerful. This was a wake and not a gossip arena. She sighed, she couldn't possibly ask them to leave, maybe people grieved in their own way.
“Juliet” Juliet turned to look at the person who called her and held her arm softly. It was Flo, her next-door neighbour who was supposed to move a few days ago but had to postpone it after hearing of her mother's passing. She was one of the nice ones that juliet could stand. She was real, and not two faced like most people in the room. She could feel their curious stares on her and hear the whisper of their gossip. Juliet flashed flo a slight smile which flo reciprocated and squeezed her arm softly again.
“How are you holding up. It must have been tough. Planning all this yourself” Flo looked a bit worried, juliet could see the concern in her eyes, probably the only one who truly cared. Juliet sighed and nodded. It was hard, but she had no choice but to do it. She didn't have friends or a family member who could help her.
“It's still feels surreal that my mom is gone” Juliet said in a low voice. Her eyes were on Mrs Williams, who chuckled because of what one of the women said to her. She wanted to slap that smug smile off her face, but she knew she would only cause a scene. They looked so happy while she felt empty on the inside. It seemed flo was the only one who cared.
“You should get some rest, i will take care of everything here you don't have to worry” Flo assured, and juliet nodded. She couldn't refuse the offer she just wanted to be alone and away from all the people who were pretending like they cared. She wasn't sure how much longer she could stand watching them.
“Thank you flo,” Julie gave her a slight hug before walking away slowly to her room. She ignored most of the people who tried to talk to her. She just wanted to lay down and sleep. Maybe this feeling in her heart would finally disappear for a while.
She did just that when she got to her room, but the feeling disappearing was farfetched. Juliet laid on her bed wide awake, staring at her white ceilings. Emptiness slowly engulfed her as her mind started to process the last few days that had gone by like a flash... Sadness started to slowly creep into her heart...
She was really gone. Her mom was really gone, and she was never going to see her again. It finally dawned on her, and she closed her eyes as a drop of tears slowly escaped her eyes. She quickly wiped the tears away and took deep, shaky breaths to steady herself and try to regain her composurem She couldn't be weak... she had promised her mom not to...
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