When Winter Arrives

Chapter 9

Rowan took a deep breath, "Here is what happened to her mom. She was the type of person who liked to travel a lot. We were best friends ever since high school; her name was Mila Ashley. Around when I started my own company, at age 26, she told me that she liked me, and we started dating. After dating for 7 years, she wanted to get married and have a family. I was happy to accept it. We got married and we traveled around the country because my company went everywhere. Bridget was born a year after we got married. However, 2 months after Bridget was born, Mila disappeared. I did not know where she went. After a week, Mila contacted me. She told me how she moved back to our hometown for a bit because she had some family issues down there. One morning, about 1 months after she told me what she did, I watched the news while I drank my cup of coffee, there was a house that exploded. I was not sure if that was her house or not, then they put up photos of who lived there; that is when I saw Mila Ashley, my wife. I was shocked. I wondered if it was true, so I called in sick at work and I spent that entire morning researching more about it. Once I searched everything I thought about the incident, I refused to believe she was gone. I grabbed Bridget from her baby chair, and I put her in the car. I drove to my hometown to see it for myself. My heart broke when I drove past the blown-up house. It was surrounded by police tape. Our memories surrounded my head. Her mom was dead, her dad was dead, her sister was dead, and she was dead. I parked the car in front of the house. I stepped out and I stood in front of the police tape. I stared at the house. I fell to my knees, and I began to cry. Bridget was still in the car. Bridget does not remember a thing, and I never want to remind her. After that day, I swore never to fall in love or have any sort of connection, because I do not want to risk seeing that again." Himari's eyes widened "I'm sorry that happened to you, it must've hurt you a lot." Rowan did not reply, he stood up and went to the living room to be alone. Himari heard him cry quietly, but she did not want to disturb. She went upstairs with her cup of tea and watched television.

The Next Day

It was September 30th. Himari woke up. She lied in bed for 5 minutes. She finally sat up in her bed. The blanket was on the end of the bed, the pillow had a stain on it because she drooled in her sleep. Her hair was all fuzzy and it had a bunch of knots in it; it looked like she got attacked by a bird in her sleep. Himari got out of bed and went to the bathroom. She did her business, and she washed her hands. She looked at herself in the mirror and she sighed. Himari left the bathroom and went back to her room, and she got changed. She put on a t-shirt that had a skull on it saying "Boneless Day" under it. Boneless Day was a band Himari loved. She put on blue ripped jeans and put on black socks. Himari went downstairs and she made herself toast and a cup of tea. Himari sat in the living room and ate her breakfast. She was home alone because Rowan always heads to work early. Himari watched television. After Himari was finished eating, she washed the dishes. While Himari was washing the dishes, she saw a cup that had leftover coffee in it. The cup read, "A Great Day to Be a Father!" she dumped out the leftover coffee and flipped over the cup; there was a baby picture of Bridget and it read, "My Daughter" above it, with little, purple hearts around it. Himari smiled and she washed the cup. She washed her plate, her cup, and a bunch of other dishes. She put them away in the cupboards, and the drawers. After Himari was done, she realized that she did not have her backpack and it was still at her mom's house. She put on her yellow, converse shoes and she grabbed a random water bottle to use for school. She filled the water bottle up with water and she stared at the photos on the fridge. "She looked so cute as a baby." Himari whispered to herself. Himari looked at the time on her phone and she realized she was going to be late. Himari ran out of the house, locking and closing the door behind her. She stopped on the driveway and turned back, realizing she forgot to grab the keys inside. "Oh, come on!" Himari said as she stomped her foot on the ground in anger. "Whatever." She sighs as she turns and walks away to school.

Bridget woke up in the hospital bed. She stared at the ceiling. Bridget started coughing. Her lungs tightened and she could hardly breathe. Hudson walked in and saw Bridget suffering. He called for the nurses. Two nurses came in and helped Bridget. Bridget's face was as pale as white paper, and she had terrible eye bags. After they calmed Bridget down, Hudson went to take some tests. Hudson came back after an hour because he had conversations with his co-workers. "Hi, Hudson!" Bridget exclaimed with an unclear voice. Hudson had a sad look on his face. "So... I have some sad news." Bridget looked at him, "Like?" Hudson sat down on the chair beside her bed. He put his hands together and took a deep breath, "You have passed stage 3 of lung cancer. It has progressed to stage 4." Bridget gasped and started to cough. "I'm sorry the treatments didn't work." "Will I die, Hudson?" Tears welled up in Hudson's eyes. His voice broke, "From what I see in the test, you will not live much longer. My estimate is 3 months, that is how long you might live." Hudson tried to choke back his tears. "Oh, well I'll live those years the happiest I can!" Bridget's voice broke a bit, for her eyes also welled up in tears. A tear rolled down her cheek as she let out a little smile. Hudson smiled back, with tears rolling down his face.

After school, Himari went to the hospital. She opened the door to Bridget's room, and she ran in to give her a hug. "Hey, Bridget! How are you?" Bridget smiled, "Hi! I am doing great! The treatments are working!" Bridget had to lie; she did not want Himari to worry for those 3 months. Himari giggled, "Yay! Will you be going home soon?" Bridget lied again, "Yeah, in 3 months!" Bridget smiled as wide as she could. "Oh yeah, I have a story to tell you, it's about your mom." Bridget's eyes widened. "Oh?" She said as she tilted her head. "I'll explain it." Himari sat down in the chair, and she explained the story.

A Few Minutes Later

"That is what happened to her." Bridget looked at her, choking back the tears. "Ah." She looked at the wall across from the bed. "So, she died in a house explosion." "Yeah." They both looked down at the floor. "Well, that was years ago! I hardly knew her." Himari lifted her eyebrow, "You don't care?" "Oh no! I do, I am holding back the tears right now!" She said as she smiled. Himari grabbed Bridget's hand. "It's okay, you can cry." "But I can't." Bridget looked at her. "Why not?" "Well..." She said as she pointed to her chest. "Oh, yeah." Himari chuckled nervously.