Hello Rosalynna

Chapter Thirty-Four: | ✔

May 14, 2037

Chapter Thirty-Four: | ✔

"There's nothing I wouldn't do

To have just one more chance

To look into your eyes

And see you looking back"

Hurt // Christina Aguilera

Enrique Carson

As the montage continued it tugged at the strings of my heart. Childhood photographs, a time frozen in moments of our joy, and images that captured the memories that I cherished flashed across the big projector screen as Selena's, "Dreaming Of You," continued to play. Even the song itself could almost bring me to tears. Each picture just reminded me of the childhood we had been filled with laughter and cheer something we had forgotten to tap into as we grew older.

I have been so mixed up with self-loathing in this whole grieving process that I couldn't even actually grieve. I kept thinking back to the past, trying to process each thought and examine where I had gone wrong within the situation. When I needed to be here in the moment instead and that did not happen until those photos began to appear. As the montage came to a close the funeral director and Jaxon opened up the caskets. Our pew was the first to see them. Ansel helped me back into the wheelchair the hospital had given me as I tried to heal. He then placed one of the twins on me while they were in their car seat, and the other twin was in his seat he held while wheeling me to get closer. The caskets were beautiful. Valentinas' casket, was draped in white with red lining, and Dallas' was the opposite his was red with white lining.

My mom was the first to see Valentina. She kissed her forehead, and so did my father. Sooner than later came my turn to see her. I didn't even want to look, but it wouldn't be real; she couldn't really be gone until I saw her in the casket—that made it real. I was next to see Valentina, Valentina lay peacefully in the casket, surrounded by an array of delicate white lilies and red roses and soft, flowing fabric. Her curls were neatly arranged, cascading gently over her shoulders.

Valentina's face was serene, almost as if she were in a deep slumber. She didn't look like Valentina anymore, her complexion was now darker than her usual complexion. The makeup they added allowed a subtle touch to the contours of her cheeks. She wore an elegant white and red gown that draped gracefully over her slender form with delicate lace. A silver necklace that she had worn all the time was against her chest. Valentina's hands were gently clasped together, holding a single white rose.

I continued to walk as the people behind me said their goodbyes. When the caskets began to close Jaxon, Dad, Ansel, Oliver, and my cousin Daniel carried Valentina's casket while Dallas' friends carried his. The carriage was long enough to hold both caskets, it was long and white with pictures of the two along the sides with detailing across the sides. We entered the limo once again the leather seats cool beneath us and this time we went to the place where we would lay the two to rest. As the limo glided along the road, the passing scenery framed by the tinted windows, I couldn't help but reflect on the journey that led us here.

The limo came to a slow stop, and one by one, we got out of the limo and onto the soft gravel of the cemetery parking lot. The air was cool, carrying a scent of freshly cut grass and a hint of flowers in bloom. The sunlight filtered through the branches of ancient trees, casting dappled shadows on the ground. As we gathered near the entrance, the cemetery revealed itself as a peaceful place, filled with rows of headstones standing like silent sentinels. The sound of distant birdsong mingled with the soft murmur of leaves in the breeze. A wrought-iron gate marked the entrance, adorned with a simple sign that read "Eternal Rest Cemetery."