Envelope Challenge

Chapter 33 - Family Reunions

Hello once again, my few! I'm super excited 'cause I just got 13 reads in one day. Like, wow! 12 reads on one chapter and one new reader. CRAZY! So, thanks for that. :) I'll be updating chapter 34 at 240 reads. Here's your chapter.

Enjoy!

Books were liars.

Polly's mother didn't look like she was sleeping. Maybe the brown, flaky skin stuck on her or the awkward angles some of her limbs rested had to do with that mindset. Regardless, she couldn't imagine that it was her mother, much less her sleeping, on that metal slab of a table. She looked deformed, grotesque and just wrong.

"Mother," she croaked and reached out her hand to touch her, fingers stopping just before making contact. She swallowed down her tears. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. If it weren't for me, you'd be alive. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry."

Nathaniel reached across the wheelchair to touch her shoulder, but pulled away. This wasn't a moment for him. He was simply a guilty bystander, the true reason her mother was dead. If he grabbed her before they ran out of the building, Polly wouldn't be going through this torment. If only he wasn't so selfish.

"I'm so sorry," she reiterated. "I should have come sooner. I'm so sorry, mother, but you're with father now. You were so sad since he left. I'm so sorry, but you're happy now, you're with dad. You're with dad. Tell him hi for me, ok? Tell him I love him. I love you, as well, mom. I love you, too."

She broke down. The only sound in the room was her labored breathing and broken sobs. Off to the side, the mortician waited patiently for her to have her moment. Nathaniel reached over and grasped her shoulder, gently massaging the muscles while giving her support and assuring her that she wasn't alone. She grabbed onto his hand for dear life, her body shaking uncontrollably and causing pain to shoot through her broken ribs.

"Do you want to leave?" he whispered. She quickly shook her head. "Ok. I'm right here."

She nodded her thanks before reaching forward and finally grabbing her mother's hand. It was cold, cold and hard, cold and hard and burnt. It wasn't her mother's usually so well cared-for, lotioned and manicured hands.

"Bye, mom," she finally whispered one last time and released her hand. She looked over and nodded jerkily at Nathaniel, who turned the chair around so she wasn't facing her mother's corpse anymore. He turned her towards the mortician.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," he told her. She nodded. "The paperwork is just in the other room, if you would like to fill it out."

With tear stained cheeks and more tears threatening to fall, she followed the man out into an office. Once she'd finalized the burial – it would be wrong to cremate her when fire killed her – she left the building to prepare for the funeral itself. As the mortician said, it would have to be soon before her mother's... decomposition became too severe. She already knew it would be small, only close friends because she didn't have any family left. Her mother's favorite flowers were yellow tulips and white carnations, so there would be plenty of those.

"Are you ok?" he asked her once they had left the office, this time with mother's death certificate and five copies.

"Not really," she admitted. "But that doesn't matter. I still need to do everything he told me to do to prepare for the funeral before I can... mourn." She lifted the pamphlet with instructions on what to do. "I don't think I'll even have the money for all this."

"I could always help," he offered, but she was already shaking her head.

"You already gave me a place and paid who-knows-how-much in medical bills for me. I'm not asking for more." She knew he was going to protest further so she started to roll herself forward, sending herself at an angle since she could only use one hand. Immediately, he was straightening her and bringing her to his car.