Tiana lay in her recovery room, now fully awake, and she stared down at her bandaged wrists, as her tears fell. She felt so scared and alone. When she heard a knock on her door, she wiped her tears away quickly.
"Come in." She called, as she hid her wrists under her blanket, ashamed at what she had done. The door opened and Tonya walked in, holding a yellow rose.
"Hey Tiana." She said quietly as she stood at the door. Tiana didn't look up. Tonya whispered a silent prayer to God of thanks that Tiana had survived. She only hoped she'd be able to convince the child to remember her parents before this would happen again.
Tonya sat in the chair next to Tiana and held up the beautiful yellow rose. Tiana turned and looked at the rose curiously.
"What's that?" She asked, quietly, in almost a whisper. Tonya smiled.
"This is a yellow rose. You know, each color for roses symbolizes something really special. Red symbolizes love, white symbolizes purity, but yellow symbolizes the best thing of all. Friendship. I want you to have this rose, Tiana. You were the only one who wanted to be my friend, even though everybody else hated me. That's true friendship, and it's just so great to have you as my friend Tiana. You're really special to me." She explained through her tears, as she handed the rose to Tiana, who took it and brought it to her nose to smell it. She barely smiled.
"Thanks Tonya. You've been a good friend too." She said with no hint of emotion. It was like Tiana didn't even notice Tonya was there with her. She had so many other things on her mind. Tonya and Tiana both remained silent for a few moments before anything was said.
"Tiana?" Tonya broke the silence. Tiana didn't answer but Tonya spoke anyway.
"Why did you do it? Was it because you tried to forget?" She asked carefully as she watched Tiana. Tiana closed her eyes, feeling the same pain she felt only hours ago when she slit her wrists.
"I don't want to talk about this." She said simply.
"Please Tiana, don't hold this all inside. I just want to help." Tonya replied desperately. Tiana sighed, getting angry.
"Look, I don't know why I did it okay? I guess..." She trailed off as her eyes began to fill up with tears. Tonya took her hand into her own.
"You can tell me." She said gently. Tiana looked down.
"I just...miss them so much. I-I just wanted to see them again. Be with them in Heaven. I just know that's where they are. They have to be." She cried, as more tears spilled. Tonya smiled.
"Oh Tiana, you will them again, but God says it's not your time yet." She said, as a Heavenly light surrounded her. Tiana's mouth dropped open and she stared at the angel.
"T-Tonya?" She stuttered.
"Don't be scared Tiana. I'm an angel, sent by God. And I'm here to tell you that it's not your time to go to Heaven. You still have a long life ahead of you." Tonya said in a gentle voice. Tiana broke down crying.
"But I miss my mom and dad so much. I don't want to keep remembering them. I want to be with them." She cried.
"Tiana, your mom and dad want to be with you too, but it's not time yet. God needs you to be patient. But most importantly, you cannot try to forget about the love your parents gave you, because that love didn't die. It still lives on." Tonya replied.
"But remembering them is so hard. It makes me so sad to remember them."
"Yes, it is hard, but wasn't it so much harder to try to forget them?" Tonya asked. Tiana was silent as she thought about what she had done.
"Oh Tia, God loves you so much and He wants you to know that memories are a great gift, so don't let them go. And your parents. They asked me to tell you that they love you, and that they're so proud of you." Tonya smiled as a look of joy spread across Tiana's face. Something that Tonya had never seen on Tiana since she had met her.
"They told you that they're proud...of me?" She asked quietly.
"Oh yes. They are proud of who you've become. A wonderful girl who befriends everyone. Even the outcasts." Tonya replied with a small giggle. Tiana managed to smile.
"Don't forget them Tiana. They haven't forgotten you, or Trevor. You must always keep their memory close to your heart." Tonya said as she held up a familiar small, red shoe box. Tiana looked at it and gasped.
"My shoe box! All my memories! But, I threw it out. They took all the trash to the dump this morning. How did you get this?" She asked as she clutched it closely. Tonya smiled.
"With God, all things are possible." She said with a smile. Tiana returned the smile, and it was the smile of a happy girl. Tiana reached out and gave Tonya a hug.
"Thank you." She whispered softly. Once she left the embrace, she opened up her shoe box and looked inside. Everything was just as she had left it. She smiled and looked up to see that Tonya had vanished. Tiana looked around quickly and then back at the yellow rose. She smiled and the door opened, allowing Trevor inside the hospital room. Tiana's smile disappeared as she feared Trevor's reaction to her having the shoe box. Trevor sat in the chair next to Tiana's bed and didn't say a word.
"Are-are you gonna give it to me for having this box?" She asked nervously as she held it tightly. Trevor smiled and shook his head, which surprised Tiana tremendously.
"I'm, uh, I'm glad you're alright, sis." Trevor said quietly after a moment of silence. Tiana smiled. This was the first time she heard her brother talk like that since their parents died.
"Me too." She said simply. They smiled at each other for a moment, and Trevor began to cry. Watching her brother cry as he was, brought tears to Tiana's eyes.
"Um. So, w-what do you have in that box anyway?" Trevor asked as he wiped away his tears. Tiana stared at her brother, amazed at his sudden change of heart, but she didn't object. It felt like the happiest moment in her life when she held up the box for Trevor to see. For the next three hours, the siblings went through the shoe box, remembering anything and everything they could of their parents. And for the first time, Trevor and Tiana remembered together. As a family. A feeling they had placed aside for nearly a year.