A/N: Please, do not cry on this chapter. Thanks for the reviews, by the way :D
Carolyn started her Saturday very early. She woke up at five o'clock in the morning, and everything was so dark. She hated to wake up early on a Saturday. Every time she wanted to go back to sleep, she would always fail. Her hair would always be messy when she passed the mirror of her bedroom, and she had to comb it. And it was very hard to comb. She tied all her hair into a ponytail with a red ribbon to match her clothes, and then walked downstairs to the kitchen to make breakfast for herself and her family.
She brought her mother's breakfast to her parents' room-like always. She knocked on the door, and Mr. Brown opened it for her inside.
"Breakfast is served downstairs, father," she told him.
She walked inside her parents' room, and the room was quite dark. The windows weren't opened, and the heavy drapes covered them. She saw her mother lying on the bed asleep. She approached her, and gently woke her up.
"Oh, good morning, my dear," greeted Mrs. Brown to Carolyn with a weak, yet warm smile on her face.
"Good morning, mother," she greeted her back. "I made sugarless tea and chicken porridge just for you." She set the tray upon her mother's lap, and sat on the chair beside her mother's bed.
"My dear, can you please turn on the radio and play any song you wish?" asked Mrs. Brown weakly.
"Yes, mother," she nodded her head, and approached the radio that was sitting on a table near the window. She turned on the radio, and searched for a good station to listen. She heard a song by Elvis Presley, titled Kiss Me Quick. She She sat again on the chair beside her mother's bed.
Mrs. Brown gently chewed the food inside her mouth, and slowly swallowed it. She looked at Samantha weakly, and touched her hand. Samantha looked at her mother, and managed a smile on her face.
"My dear child, after I leave, I want you to be responsible of the household," she said weakly. "Take care of your father and brothers well, my dear. Listen to what your father tells you. Just remember that I will always love you, guide you, and be in your heart, my dear. I am sorry for everything."
Tears began to form on Carolyn's eyes, and she knelt on the floor with her eyes on her mother's. She pushed the chair with her legs far behind her so there would be more room for her legs.
"Mother, please, don't say that," she begged. "You are not going to die. I won't let you die. I won't let you go from my life. Our lives. I do not want you to go. Please, mother, please, don't go!"
Mrs. Brown gently stroked Carolyn's curls, and put a smile on her face.
"I am not afraid of dying, my dear," she said. "I knew that this day would come since I was your age when your grandmother died of heart attack." She looked at the window across the room, and then looked at her. "My dear Carolyn, be good now. Please, open the window for me." Mrs. Brown planted a kiss on her daughter's cheeks, and gave her a loving hug. One last loving hug.
Carolyn looked at the window, and then approached it. She spread the drapes away from each other, and light came in to the room through the closed window. The sun was shining so bright, and she could see birds on the trees. She tried to open the window, and then it was finally opened after three times of trying. The wind and light entered the room, and then she looked at her mother. She heard birds chirping, and they sat on the window.
Mrs. Brown was lying on the bed with her eyes closed. Her face and body were pale, and she wasn't moving. Carolyn approached her, and prayed that her mother didn't leave. She knelt beside her.
"Mother?" she spoke softly, and gently shook her mother. She touched her mother's hand, and it was cold. She looked at her with a shocked look on her face, and tears streamed down her face.
"Mother, please, wake up!" she begged. "This is not funny! Please, mother, please!"
Mrs. Brown didn't answer her. Tears streamed down Samantha's face, and she cried harder. She shook her head, and then stood up from the floor. She slowly walked toward the door and still shaking her head. She ran as fast as she could out of the house with tears streaming down her face. She couldn't believe that her mother passed away. Perhaps, when she opened the window, her mother's soul went out through the window. She didn't want to think about it, and kept on running-without wearing a pair of shoes.
She kept running, running, and running until she found herself in George's warm embrace on the street in front of his house. She couldn't stop crying, and it made his blouse wet of her tears. She thought that the weather would turn gray and dull when someone just died, but it was still sunny and warm. She also couldn't believe that movies fooled her.
"Carolyn, what's wrong?" he asked her as he awkwardly stroked her hair.
She wrapped her arms around him, and cried harder.
"My mother…she…she…" she sobbed, and cried even harder. She couldn't even say it, but she had to tell him. "She died!"
He was very shocked to hear it. He hugged her tighter around his arms, and tried to comfort her as best as he could-although he didn't know what to say to her. He doesn't know what it feels like to lose someone he loves. He tried his best to comfort her.
"I'm very sorry, Carolyn," he said to her sadly. "Everything will be fine. Just fine, I suppose."
"I don't want to go back home! Everything would remind me of mother!" she sobbed. "And no, everything won't be fine! My mother is dead! She's dead! Not living anymore! Oh, George! I can't stand the pain! After those days of being not a good daughter to her before we found out she was ill! George, I feel guilty. She'll never come back. She'll never be there to give me women advices when I need help!"
He pursed his lips. He knew that he didn't like to see her cry, but he need to stand it because she just lost someone she loved so very much. Probably, the closest person she ever had.
"But your father will be worried," he said. "He needs you."
"I don't need him!" she cried. "I need you! I'm depending on you, now. You're the closest person I ever had after my mother. Please, don't make me go back to that house! Please, please, please!"
That afternoon, there was a funeral for Mrs. Brown. Everyone worked very fast for it. All of their close friends and relatives came to the funeral. Reverend Worthington was honored to eulogize her. The weather was still warm and sunny, the birds were still chirping, and the people (who didn't go to the funeral) was still looking very happy.
After he spoke a few words about Mrs. Brown and a few lines from the Bible, he asked Carolyn if she wanted to say anything to her before they bury Mrs. Brown. She shook her head, and didn't say anything. She couldn't cry anymore. All her tears were wasted to cry that morning. Her eyes were red and puffy, and her face was pale. She still couldn't believe that her mother would never come back. She thought that it was only just a dream-but it wasn't. She finally cried again when they buried her mother. Mr. Brown hugged her tightly, and she cried so very hard.
She locked herself in her room, and secretly looked out of the window. She saw her cousins and her mother's friends' children playing on the front lawn. She locked herself in her room because she didn't want anyone to tell her that they were sorry about her loss of her mother. She knew that she wouldn't be strong on listening to their pities.
Someone knocked on the door, and she ignored it.
"Carolyn, please open the door," said George outside her room. "It's me, George."
He waited patiently until she opened the door. She saw him standing before her, dressed in black, and looking very sad for her loss. He also saw that he brought a friend with him. He was also dressed in black, and his hair was neatly combed. He had a rather handsome face, and a warm smile on his face which he gave for her-but she didn't smile at him back. She wasn't in the mood to smile. She was in the mood to do nothing at all. Just sitting in her room and do nothing.
"Carolyn, this is my friend, Paul," he said. "His mother had cancer, and died last year."
"I am very for your loss, Carolyn," he apologized to her humbly.
"So am I," she said. "Come in, if you want to."
The two boys went inside her room, and they sat on a couch near the window. The room was very bright. The light entered from the large window near the bed, and it was opened so fresh air would enter inside. They could hear the birds singing joyful songs, and butterflies resting on the window. Carolyn sat on the end of her bed, and she looked at the two boys.
"Your father told us to check on you and talk to you," said George. "Since I'm your only closest friend." He cleared his throat.
"And?" she replied coldly.
He hesitated. "And...to...cheer...you...up!" he finally said and smiled widely.. "How are you feeling, Samantha?"
"I'm feeling nothing at all," she said dryly, and raised an eyebrow.
"That means you're dead!" said Paul with a little chuckle, and George hit his arm with his elbow. "Ouch!" he complained.
"It's alright, George," she said with a slight nod. "It's alright."
She broke down, and cried with her face covered with both of her palms. Her hair gently swept from her back to her shoulders. She sobbed very hard, and shook her head. George sat beside her, and wrapped his arms around her. She rested her head on his shoulder, and cried harder.
"Carolyn, I know how you're feeling," said Paul, "but please, stop crying. Your mother couldn't rest in peace if she sees you being sad and cry all the time."
He had a point there. She wanted her mother to rest in peace. She didn't want to make her mother sad up there, instead of resting in peace with the others.
Paul approached her, and knelt before her while holding both of her hands.
"She'll be all right there," he said to her. "I am sure of it. Now, cheer up, love. Let me see those beautiful eyes of yours dry. George doesn't like to see you feeling so sad. Seeing you cry makes him sad, you know? And he could even cry in front of you!"
She looked at him, and then sat straight on the bed. She fixed her hair, and then wiped the tears away from her face.
"There, much better!" he said with a cheerful smile. "George is right! You really are beautiful!"
"What?" she asked with a chuckle.
"What he meant was that you really look beautiful in black," said George, and then shook his head. "No! He meant—"
She interrupted him with a chuckle, and shot him a smile.
"It's alright, George," she said to him. "Thank you."
She gave the two boys a warm hug that made their hearts warm. They hugged her back, but tighter than her embrace. She really liked Paul, but she liked George more. She whispered in their ears: "Thank you, boys, for cheering me up. Thank you."
A/N: I don't think that you all cried reading this chapter. I still think it's rather sad, though. Thanks for reading. And don't forget to review :D