An awful shriek came from inside the house.
William and I had been outside, pulling logs from the woods with Bella, our Clyde.
We ran inside as fast as we could.
Mary was crying along with Charlotte.
Sawyer was trying to be strong and hug mary.
Charlotte was sobbing and stroking our mother's face as our mother was laying on the living room couch with Charlotte sitting with her torso in her lap.
"Not yet please, mama please. Not yet." She begged as she shook and cried.
William and I couldn't believe our eyes.
Our mother looked so drained. So lifeless.
Charlotte begged our mother to stay with us.
Even for the night. That was all she wanted.
I had never seen Charlotte cry so much in my entire life. She never cried much as a baby. Only cried when she was really hurt.
Charlotte never believed much in god like the rest of our family.
But she did when our mother had passed away in her arms.
Our father came in and nearly fell right away at the sight of his wife.
It was the first time I had seen him cry. He cradled my mother in his arms as he sat on the floor. He couldn't believe she was really gone.
Our mother died of a incomplete miscarriage, leading to an infection.
We all had never known she was expecting another child because she hadn't even known herself.
I looked into my sisters room that night by the crack in the door.
My father was sitting with her.
He didn't look very well. He was very upset.
Charlotte was trying to not cry but she couldn't help herself.
"I'm so sorry Charlotte." He told her.
She nodded even though it made her look as if she was in excruciating pain.
"I know. I knew it was coming."
When we asked that next breakfast when the funeral would be; my father had to tell us that we couldn't afford a headstone so he would be making one for her and we would have a very private moment with her at her grave that night.
We were expected to go to school that day as well.
I wasn't sure if my father did that because he wanted to be cruel, or because of how we had an inkling that our mother would go, so we had grieved a bit before.
Charlotte was braiding Mary's hair at the table while will and I were getting our shoes on to head to school.
"Hurry up, Charlotte." My father shook his head. "She isn't going any longer."
Charlotte only had to complete her final three weeks of school and she would have been the first woman in our family to finish school.
Thomas smiled at us. "Did good on hiding her slate again." We had hid her slate a few times before so she would be late to walking with us for Thomas to leave flowers on her desk.
I shook my head. "She isn't coming to school anymore."
Thomas was confused at first then his face fell. He rubbed back his dark curly hair. "I'm so sorry."
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