Mint sat at her patio table. She looked awful. Her eyes had bags under them, and her clothes were wrinkled. Sipping her tea, she looked at the piece of paper in front of her.
'I hate this.'
Dear Miss Aizawa
We regret to inform you that your Father has had a serious stroke. After hospitalization, there was nothing we could do. The stroke had triggered a brain aneurysm, and he was randomly having seizures. By 7:53 PM, he had gone into a coma from which there was no hope of his waking up.
His wife was driving over through a storm. By pure ill luck, a light pole fell. Mrs. Aizawa was found at about 8:02, and an ambulance was called immediately. Unfortunately, she had slipped away just before the ambulance arrived.
Shortly after, Mr. Aizawa stopped breathing.
We are very sorry for your loss.
Sincerely, Arnold berrick, manager of the hospital.
Mint still couldn't believe it. Both of her parents, dead. It couldn't be. They had to come home. What would Mint do without her parents? Maybe it was her brother she was closest to, but that didn't mean she didn't love her parents! It couldn't be!
But Mint knew it was very true. Her parents were gone. In an instant, fate had snatched them from her. A single tear fell down Mint's cheek.
Why had it been her parents? Why not her? Mint leaned over her tea, suppressing the urge to cry out loud. Her Nanny had done all she could to console her, but Mint wanted her parents. It wasn't fair! Of all the people, why did it have to be her Mother and Father, her family!?
Mint's brother hadn't taken the news well either. He had broken down and sobbed over the phone line.
Lettuce had stopped by to say she was sorry, but Mint had refused to see her. She didn't want anybody seeing her like this, so weak and vulnerable.
The tea tasted bitter to Mint. Perfect. A living manifestation of her inner turmoil. She kept drinking.
Life was so out of sorts. Nobody had told Mint to change into clean clothes for the past two days, and nobody had reminded her to take a bath. She hadn't had dance practice since the news arrived, and Mint wasn't planning on having any anytime soon.
All in all, Mint had been pushing everybody away. She was sick of their false sympathy for her. They could all go to Transylvania, for all she cared. Mint only wanted her parents, but they weren't coming home anytime soon. 'Or ever again.'
What made tragedies? Was there someone up above who threw darts and random people and watched their lives fall into ruin? Was there somebody down below who had the same job? How did they choose? WHY did they have to choose in the first place?
'I guess I'll never know.'
Mint set her tea down, staring angrily around her. Why? Why did she have to love somebody who could never love her? Why did her parents have to die? Why did she have to be a mew?
"EVERYTHING is a flippin tragedy!" snapped Mint to nothing. "It all doesn't make sense!!!"
With that, she lay her head down on her arms and began to cry.
She cried for her parents. She cried for her brother. But mostly, Mint cried for herself. For her lost love and her parents death and her becoming an orphan and the funeral she was expected to attend. Her life was spinning out of control. Why did it have to be Mint's life that fell apart? Why did anybody's life have to fall apart?
Mint couldn't answer any of the questions. She could only cry harder and pray that nobody found her. She just wanted to be alone to mourn. She'd hate to have them staring at her, eyes brimming with fake sorrow, while really focusing on her appearance and her actions.
'I've hit rock bottom, and I hate it here!'
This thought made Mint begin to cry harder, resulting in a bad case of the hiccups. Now her shoulders shook for two reasons. Sobbing and hiccuping.
'Good thing no one can see me here.'
The tea lay forgotten. Mint didn't think she could stomach another sip, especially in her condition. But then again, who cared about tea? Not her. Not now. Now, Mint had bigger things on her mind. Her parents had always been there to shelter her from the world. But now, it looked like Mint was on her own.
'I'm so sorry, Mommy and Daddy, for all the times I was mean and selfish.'
'Too bad that won't make up for it.'
The whole garden was quiet, except for Mint's gasping sobs. She felt like she couldn't get enough air. 'This must be what it feels like to drown.'
'that's a good way to put it. I'm drowning, and I've lost my life jacket.'