Cliché Tragedies

Prologue

For as long back as I can remember, my mom was sick. Now she's dead. Cancer. It has been almost a year since her death, I'm at a boarding school now because I had nowhere to go. I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself. My name is Billi, and no, I'm not a guy. I mean, my actual name is Belle, but my dad hated that name and so he called me Billi, and that's what stuck I guess. Well, I should start from the beginning, it'll make more sense.

Funerals aren't fun

I climbed into bed with mum and hugged her tight. "What's going to happen?" I ask as a tear drizzles down my face. "Where am I gunna go?" I whimper. Mum smiles at me and just laughs.

"You are so cynical, be optimistic for once!" mum laughs. I smile. Her face is so pale and pasty that she looks like a ghost. Her beautiful brown locks were gone, and all that was left on her head was a peach fuzz. I lay next to her for an hour or so, or until she fell back asleep and then I went to my best friend Maddie's house to stay the night (even though Maddie wasn't home).

I enjoyed those last days with her, playing monopoly and other board games. One evening she asked me to get her something from the corner store (which of course I did) but as I was leaving I heard her cough and then retch. It was horrible, even though I couldn't see her, I could hear her pain. I returned later on that day with whatever she wanted, I can't quite remember what it was, in fact those next for days were a blur. Like I said, I returned and she was asleep. I moved a chair by her bed and just held her hand. I don't know what it was about holding her limp, lifeless hand that made me feel connected to her, but it was like she was never going to leave me. I fell asleep hunched over her chest, and was awoke in the morning by a nurse, only to find my mother's bed empty. I immediately broke down, and that's when Yvette (Maddie's mother) picked me up from the hospital. Lets just say that those next few days were a wreck.

Fast forward a week or so, I'm sitting in a large leather chair swiveling around while a lawyer reads my mother's will. My brother Dane, whom I haven't seen since 2000 was there, slightly late, but there.

"My flat will be inherited by my son, Dane and my personal belongings will go to my daughter, Belle." Read the lawyer. I caught a side glance of mt brother, he looked frail and sick. "None of my belongings shall go to my husband," the lawyer continued.

Here's a small fact that will help in understanding why my mother felt the need to include that in her will. My father is a lying, cheating, affair having, bastard. Let me tell you the whole story. I had two older sisters, Trissany and Janet. Janet was murdered when she turned 20 by a jealous ex-boyfriend. This event led to a few more, first my sister was distraught and eloped (I say ran away) with her boyfriend, we haven't heard from them since. My mum caught my dad in the bedroom with Angelina, one of his college students, (he taught AP Chemistry) but let me tell you, that girl's IQ is less than the amount of fingers on one hand. This turned Dane into a troubled teen, he stole, got drunk and did drugs, so my father sent him off to military school in America right before my mum banished my dad. So, during her dying days it was just the two of us.

The lawyer read on, but I was too busy trying to figure out if Dane was ok, he looked deadly ill. Finally he looked back up at me, and managed to smile and then wink at me. I felt a lot better knowing he wasn't going to leave me too. Yvette was there with me, she was my godmother, and not to mention my only guardian left. She squeezed my shoulders in reassurance that everything would be all right. I put my hand on hers as the lawyer finished up.

After the will was read, everyone got up and gave Dane and me their condolences, we just smiled and shook hands. After everyone was gone, Dane caught me in an embrace, I started to cry so hard. He pushed my hair out of my face and wiped the tears from under my eyes. "It's ok, I'm here for you." He whispered in my ear.

"Please," I said, "don't go back to school, don't leave me! I can't stand to have you go too." I whimpered to him. He just kept hugging me and telling me I'd be all right. Finally after what seemed like a lifetime of hugging and crying, Yvette cut in, hugged Dane, and told us we had to go. We took a taxi to the house and started packing the things that we needed.

After hours of sorting and deciding what to keep, what to chuck and what to sell, we finished and the whole flat was empty. "I can't believe we need to sell the flat", I said as we walked out of it for the last time.

After a 10 minute drive, we arrived at Yvette's house where Maddie greeted me with a long hug. I hadn't seen her in almost two months. Her father was living in Hawaii temporarily, and she had gone out to see him, but returned when she heard about my mum. That afternoon was the funeral. It was horrible.

I stood, clad in black, in the rain while the preacher read from the bible. People passed me by, saying how "sorry" they were.

"I'm sorry about your mother, but you'll pull through, I did when my great Aunt Gigi died." said one woman. Like she was as close to her "Aunt Gigi" as I was with my mum.

"I know the feeling, but you'll make it," one man said. Umm, no you don't. Did your mother and sister die? Did your sister elope and never make contact with you? Did your father run away with some slag?

I was eventually so fed up with these people telling me that they experienced the same exact emotions, when I know they didn't. So, I did the only thing I could do, I threw a tantrum. Well, it was more like me screaming at the world.

"NO! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW I FEEL. NO ONE DOES! I'M TIRED OF ALL YOU PEOPLE SAYING YOU DO! JUST STOP!" I cried at them as I broke down in tears and nearly collapsed. Luckily, Dane being the strong big brother that he was, supported me. I had no energy, I hadn't slept in weeks. Suddenly it started rain, and thunder boomed while lightning streaked the sky. It was the perfect weather to reflect my mood. Soon the grave diggers came and lowered mum's coffin into the ground. I watched their arms flex as the lifted the heavy mud over the hole in the ground. "Good bye mum," I thought.