VEIL OF GRIEF

On a rainy night, a mother was watching a paranormal investigation show with her two daughters, Sophia and Anna. Her eldest daughter, Sophia, is a person who always seeks an opportunity to know about the mysterious things that are happening around us. Sophia began to talk about supernatural occurrences, making her sister Anna uncomfortable. Anna started shouting and urged her mother to stop Sophia. Sophia and her mother teased Anna for being a scaredy-cat. Anna stormed into her room and shut the door. Their mother told Sophia to go and check on her. Sophia knocked on Anna's door but didn't get any response. She left after asking for forgiveness for what she did. The next morning, while having breakfast as a family, Sophia again apologized for scaring Anna the night before. Anna responded with a smile, saying she would forgive after only having ice cream. They started talking normally and left for college. Their mother went to the cemetery to see her late husband's grave. She does this whenever the sky begins to cry. She drove to her husband's grave and picked up her daughters on her way back. Anna wore her favorite jacket on rainy days, which her father had bought for her. While they were having dinner together, their mother turned on the television to watch the paranormal investigation show. Anna told her mother to stop watching that show. Sophia switched the channel so Anna wouldn't get scared again. They all went to their rooms after finishing their dinner. Sophia knocked on Anna's room door to check if she had fallen asleep. Their rooms were directly opposite each other. Anna unlocked the door and let her in. Sophia advised Anna not to be scared of little things. Anna responded, "You wouldn't say this if you were in my shoes." Sophia said that she could completely understand and told Anna to try some ways to get rid of her fear. They fell asleep together after a long conversation over the night. The next day, while Anna was walking to college, Sophia popped up from a bush wearing a mask. Anna became frightened and ran without looking back. She didn't notice the signal and got struck by a car. Sophia couldn't believe what she had witnessed just now.

Their mother arrived at the hospital with eyes full of tears after hearing the news from the cops. She saw Sophia standing there in a traumatized state. She didn't answer her mother's questions. Her mother then went to the doctor to inquire about Anna. The doctor said that excessive bleeding because of a skull fracture from the accident was the cause of the death. The mother couldn't accept that her beloved daughter was dead. She inquired with the cops about the incident. The cops replied that Anna was startled by her sister and ran towards the road without noticing the signal. The mother was furious with Sophia and questioned her, why she had done something that had cost her sister's life. Sophia explained that she did this to help her sister overcome her fears. Her mother stared at Sophia without saying a word. They both returned home after Anna's burial. Sophia locked herself in her room for the next three days and only came out to have meals; the emptiness and regrets in her heart didn't let her swallow the food. Her mother didn't check on her because she couldn't accept that one of her children was somehow connected to her other child's death. Sophia eventually chose to attend college. The news of her sister's death went throughout the college, and everyone began to call her a murderer who killed her own sister. Her close friends also blamed her for doing such an idiotic thing. Every night, she sobbed and blamed herself for what had happened to her sister.

One day, while teaching history, the lecturer used Sophia as an example of a ruler who killed his own brother. She screamed at the class, claiming that she had not killed her sister. Her classmates questioned why she scared her sister, even though she knew that her sister was very timid by nature. As tears streamed down her cheeks, she gathered her belongings and left the classroom. When she arrived home, she tossed her bag on the floor and dashed into her room. Her mother hesitantly opened her room door and saw Sophia sobbing on the ground. Her mother held Sophia and told her, "It is not your fault." Sophia began to cry aloud after hearing those words. She said that she had no idea that frightening her sister would result in a tragic outcome. Her mother comforted her and advised her to stop blaming herself. Sophia refused to eat dinner that night. She fell asleep after several days. She felt something move near her feet. Sophia noticed a girl with her back turned, swaying back and forth in the corner of her bed. She closed her eyes in fear. She opened her eyes to see the girl facing her and rocking back and forth. She shouted out to her mother. Her mother entered the room and turned on the lights. There was nobody in the room. Her mother said that it might be her sister. Sophia told her mother to stop kidding, and they both laughed and went back to their beds. Sophia couldn't tell whether it was a dream or a real experience. The next day, Sophia went to college after having breakfast. Her mother was by herself in the house. She smelled a strange odor coming from Sophia's room when vacuuming the house. She decided to let Sophia clean her room this time because her mother had been cleaning it all along. When Sophia returned home, her mother urged her to clean up her room. She claimed she would do it later and began watching the paranormal investigation show with her mother. They had dinner together, and Sophia began to discuss the incident from the previous night. Her mother comforted her and explained that her continual worries about her sister could have caused hallucinations. Sophia believed that it could be the cause. They returned to their beds and went to sleep.