⁎𝔗𝔥𝔢 𝔗𝔯𝔲𝔱𝔥 𝔇𝔬𝔢𝔰𝔫'𝔱 𝔍𝔲𝔰𝔱 𝔙𝔞𝔫𝔦𝔰𝔥⁎

𝒔𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒏 : 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝑳𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑨 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑷𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒆

Well that was a memory now let's get our asses back to reality.

"Mommy?" Rose's tiny voice interrupted her thoughts. "You okay?" Billie turned to look at her daughter, who was standing a few feet away, her big gray eyes filled with concern. "You looked sad."

"What? No, I'm fine, sweetie. I was just thinking about something, that's all. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, you know that?" Billie smiled, trying to reassure her daughter. "But, you're right. It's time for us to go home. Let's get your things and head out."

"Awh why can't we bring the duckies home?" Rose pouted, looking down at her feet. "They're so cute and they like me."

Billie smiled and knelt down to be at eye level with her daughter. "Well, sweetie, you know ducks are wild animals and they shouldn't live in our backyard. They need to stay in the pond where they're used to. Plus, they might get scared if they're not around their other ducky friends."

"Oh. . . Okay." Rose sighed, clearly disappointed but understanding. "Can we bring some rocks and twigs for them, so they can play?"

Billie snickered and shook her head, ruffling Rose's hair. "Silly girl, ducks don't play with rocks and twigs. They swim and eat and. . . uh, quack? Maybe they quack?" She tried to sound convincing, but the corners of her mouth were still turning up into a smile. "But you can definitely draw them a picture and put it up by the pond, so they know you think they're cute."

"Okay!" Rose squealed, already turning around to run back to the picnic blanket where they had set up their things. "I'll draw them a really good picture!"

"Baby we'll come back tomorrow. C'mon we really need to head back home. It's getting dark," Billie called out to her daughter, who was already halfway to their stuff. "Rose, bring that picture you made for the ducks, okay? And don't forget your jacket. It's getting a bit chilly out here."

As they began to gather their belongings, Billie's thoughts drifted back to Jesse, when she was so fucking sick all of a sudden and he literally took off his shirt and put it on her head, just to keep her warm. He had held her hand the whole time and never once complained, even when she puked all over it. She couldn't help but smile at the memory, wishing he was here with them. He never even got to meet his precious daughter, Rose. It still hurt her so much to think about it.

Once they got home, Billie helped Rose unpack her things and get settled into her room. As she tucked her daughter into bed, she couldn't help but notice the drawing of ducks on the nightstand. It was adorable, just like Rose. She leaned down and kissed her daughter on the forehead. "Goodnight, sweetie. I love you."

"Love you too mommy." She said and kissed Billie's cheek before closing her eyes. As Billie turned to leave the room, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. There was an emptiness, a void that seemed to fill the space where Jesse should be. It was strange, because Rose was only five, and she hadn't known her father as long as Billie had. But still, the little girl's presence made it impossible to ignore the hole that his absence left.

Billie went back to her room and then scrolled through her phone and then started sobbing uncontrollably, looking at all those pictures of her and Jesse. She wished he could see how beautiful and intelligent Rose was becoming. She wished he could be here with them, to see her first steps, her first words, her first day of school. She wished he could hold her the way he used to, the way she needed him to.

The plane was long gone, and it has still yet to be found. How? No one knows.

She lost track of time, looking at all those pictures, reliving moments that she could never get back. She hadn't even taken a shower yet. As she was about to head to the bathroom, she noticed that Rose stood in the doorway, clutching her favorite stuffed animal, a yellow duck. "Mommy, are you okay?" she asked, her big blue eyes filled with concern.

Billie wiped her tears as Rose approached her. "Y-yeah I'm fine. Nothing to worry about darling. It's gonna be 1 and you're still awake. You should be sleeping darling. Let me get you back to bed so you can get some sleep."

"You never sleep when I'm crying. Why must I?" Billie's heart melted at the little girl's words. Billie took Rose in her arms and hugged her tight, feeling the softness of her skin and the warmth of her little body. "I'm sorry, baby."

Rose looked at her and wiped Billie's tears. "Mommy you told me this yourself, you don't need to be sorry when you did nothing. You did nothing and you're crying because of something. Something you don't want to tell me about."

Billie smiled lightly and kissed Rose's forehead. "Why are you so smart?"

"I'm not, but I love you and you're my best friend." Billie sniffled and wiped another tear. "I'm crying because I miss Daddy. He's my best friend too."

Rose hugged Billie tighter, her small body pressing against her mother's. "When will they find him? Hasn't it been too long?" she asked, her voice quivering with fear.

"I don't know, sweetheart," Billie replied, her own voice trembling. "The search teams are still looking for him, and they're not going to stop until they find him. We just have to be patient and hope for the best."

"You know there's this daddy daughter dance at school, but I- I have no one to go with and yes it made me sad but it's not my fault, why must I be sorry? Same thing here mommy, no one expected that a plane would just go missing. Boom! Gone. No one. So you don't need to be sorry and neither do I."

"That's- That's a very good advice baby. But I'm crying because I miss daddy and what daddy daughter dance? You never told me anything about it." Billie felt bad that she missed something important. "You should go to the dance, and I'll find someone to come with us. Maybe we can ask one of your aunts or uncles, or a family friend, or your teacher, or even one of your friends from school. You deserve to go, Rose. You shouldn't have to miss out on things just because daddy isn't here with us."

"It's fine. I'm sleepy."

Billie smiled and kissed Rose's forehead. "Okay, let's get you back to bed then. We can talk about the daddy daughter dance later, okay? Maybe we can find someone to take you, or we can go together as friends, just the two of us. You know I love spending time with you."

"Can I sleep with you please?" Rose asked, already climbing onto the bed and crawling under the covers.

"Of course you can, sweetheart. I'd love that." Billie smiled and got into the bed beside her daughter, pulling the covers over them both. As they lay there together, Billie couldn't help but marvel at how much Rose had grown since she was just a tiny baby. She was so smart, so strong, and so resilient. She was everything that Billie hoped she would be, and more.

𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒆𝒅

A/N : I feel so bad for those people's families who were on MH370. It's a tragedy that will always be in the hearts of everyone. I watched the documentary more than once on Netflix and I was crying at some parts. It's been 10 years and still no closure. Someone out there definitely knows damn well what happened, but for some reason the truth isn't out yet.