CHAPTER 3

It was a cloudy day; the rain threatens to fall but was held back by the growl of thunders.

"We are here today to bid our final farewell to Miss. Mathilda Aster."The pastor went on saying to the whole congregations "Anyone who would like to share more about Miss. Aster….you may step forward."

A larger hand squeezed a younger delicate one as Tala Ivanov whispered "You can do it Julia." "Thank you Tala."Julia adjusts her shades and black dress before standing up and heading to the stage where the pastor took a step away from the pulpit.

"Hi….."Her voice cracked a bit but Julia managed just fine "It's a speech that I have written with the help from my friends, all of who were very good friends of Mathilda, so here goes…."Julia unfolded a paper and began to read "When I sat down to write this speech there were many beautiful things that I wanted to say about Mathilda that I don't know where to start. One thing we all knew was that Mrs. Aster raised her daughter well. None of us had an easy lives but this is by far is the hardest thing I have to do."

"Mathilda was not only beautiful on the outside but also in the inside, her soul was pure and full of innocence. She also saw the beauty in others. Mathilda took her time forming her own thoughts and opinion about the people and things around her. One thing I can't forget about her was when our drama teacher asked us about what life was and she stood up and replied that 'Life was not just about waiting for the storm to be over but also learning how to dance in the rain'."

At that the whole congregation bowed their heads; there were also sounds of people holding back their tears.

"Although incredibly difficult this reminds me not to feel sorry about her death but be glad that her presence blessed us all. We are all a better person today because She was a part of it….."Here Julia dried her tears beneath her shades and continue to read "I am HONOURED to be her friend and a sister figure for her, we all are."Here the group of 5 girls in the congregation nodded their heads.

"Mathilda was always bright, colorful and cheerful; she always had a positive energy in her that was so contagious that even in our darkest day she would bring a smile to our faces just by being there for us."Julia turned the paper "As I saw saying earlier, Mathilda may be cheerful but she also had a dark side of her that no one ever knew of. She hides it so well that not even I can take a hint of it….well….."The duel haired girl swallowed "Words cannot describe how much she shall be missed….as a conclusion I would like to say….."She looked at the congregation "Learn to appreciate the good times, because you never know when they will be your last good memory of someone. Thank you."

"Thank you Miss."Julia went to her seat where Tala mouthed "You did well."And Julia replied with a 'thank you'.

They all watched as the casket was being lowered down. Finally the sky cried turning everything in its path gloomy and silent. The birds didn't chatter like they usually would nor did the wind sweep by in a breeze it came as a howling tempest threatening to destroy everything in its path as Mathilda Aster was finally laid to her final resting place dressed in her best to finally meet the heavenly Father.

Tyson KInomiya usually a loud mouthed attention seeker for once held his manners and remained calm and composed for the sake of not ruining his girlfriend's best friend's funeral "Thanks for coming Tyson."Hilary sat next to him in the shed as they waited for the rain to stop "I know you hate this kind of depressing stuff." "Hey…"Tyson smiled trying to cheer her up "Mathilda was kind of like my friend to." "Yeah…."Hilary smiled at the memory of Mathilda being Tyson and her daughter in a school play. That was the first time Mathilda meet Tyson and the day they became a couple.

"Say…."The raven haired said "Are you coming over to the dojo tonight?" "Sorry Tyson."The ruby eyed girl replied "But I promised the girls that I would be them with Mrs. Aster for the night."

"That's okay."Just than the sky cleared and the sun shined on the wet grass making it sparkle like little diamonds on the earth "The skies cleared."One of the party member said as everyone got out of the shed and towards the parking lot.

"Than…"Saying Tyson put on his helmet and started his bike ""I'm going Hil." "Good bye."Hilary nodded "And be safe." "I will."Tyson smiled one last time before speeding off in the highway.

"Really girls you shouldn't have."Mrs. Aster smiled at the girls as they helped her clear off the dining table "No we insist Mrs. Aster."Queen said as she cleared off the last plate for the funeral party "You need help for these." "Thank you girls."Mrs. Aster said and went to the living room to take a rest as the girls finished off the kitchen.

Later that night they were in Mathilda's room; packing up her things when Emily sighed "I can't believe she's really gone." "Yeah…"Mariah agreed "It still feels like she's gonna jump out of a corner and shout 'fooled ya'."Queen looked at the picture of a play in which Mathilda was the princess "Hey remember when she first meet Tala?"Julia smiled making her bed "She was so scared of him." "Yeah."They all nodded "And back when she used to have a crush on that guy Miguel." Ming-Ming said "That didn't go as planned though."Hilary smiled and was about to turn away when she noticed a pink diary beneath her bed.

"What's this?"Hilary sat on the ground as they all circled her. "That must be her diary."Emily said "I never knew she keeps a diary."Julia said "Should we read it?" Queen looked at her friends "Mathilda wouldn't mind….right?"Ming-Ming looked at her friends; they all did want to read the diary but…. "I say let's."Julia smiled along with the rest of her friends and they read the diary.

The first few entries were of that about her crush and how she got over him but a week's before entry caught their attention. It was mostly about her school life but it changed into the mentions of a purpled haired stalker who was always in a corner looking at her. It got darker and Mathilda's hand writing was more frantic and hurried like she was afraid and in a hurry, the last entry ended with Mathilda saying that the stalker was seating at the end of his bed mumbling 'This is the day…'

"That was creepy…"Emily said after a long pause "That reminds me."Ming-Ming said "She also said something about a stalker that day in the shop." "Whatever." Hilary closed the diary and kept it in the pile of boxes "Let's go to sleep guys tomorrow's a busy day in the cafe."