Barely Hanging On
Chapter 1
"We're all sorry for your loss"
Her eyes cast towards the ground, as the words swirled around in her mind. Her hair gently hanging from her ears, she tilted her head towards the small, squat man sitting next to her. She looked into his deep blue eyes, filled with sympathy and pity and wanted to give him what he wanted. She wanted to break down and cry, let her brown eyes fill with tears and have him tell her everything would be all right – but she couldn't. Instead she let her eyes wander from his, and pulled her body stiffly into an upright sitting position.
"I wasn't aware I'd lost anything," she glanced around the room as if looking for what she'd supposedly lost. "Piper, I know its difficult... grieving always is," he sighed, hoping in some way to connect with the girl sitting next to him. She seemed so lost and helpless, yet he wasn't sure how he could help her. He'd have given anything for the days of girls grieving over lost boyfriends, of boys punching walls after losing football games, or best friends fighting over lost loves... the typical high school dramatics he was used to dealing with. This was entirely different. He'd never dealt with anything like this.
"I'm going to miss the start of next period. Can I go?" said Piper, shifting uncomfortably in her chair. He sighed again, and nodded. Getting up quickly Piper lifted her bag and walked towards the door. As she wandered through the open plan office she felt like a newcomer in those old western movies. As she moved slowly through the office, she felt the eyes of various secretaries on her, watching her every step, waiting for her to break down – all wanting to console her in whatever way they could. But she wouldn't accept their condolences, she didn't want their pity, she wanted them to have the same faith as she did.
The faith that they would still find her sister alive.
