Poison Rose

CH 4- Tick Tock- Tick Tock

Mark's body was prepared for the final farewell. Like many middle-class families, his loved ones opted for cremation at the hospital, a choice often made due to the affordability compared to burial plots in a graveyard.

Both daughter and mother were in a black dress, which was brought by Officer Park. These dresses once belonged to his daughter and his wife.

He empathised deeply with the pain felt by Liora and Amara, who was still mute.

Liora tenderly kissed her father's forehead one last time and choked on her own voice. Tears streamed down on her innocent face uncontrollably.

The realization that she would never see her father again after today hit her like a violent storm, ravaging her emotions and leaving her soul in tatters.

She once had a happy life with her parents, but her world turned upside down right before her eyes. She still remembered the last look she saw in her father's eyes. It was a silent promise by him that he would make everything alright. But fate had played a cruel game where the strongest anchor of her life was gone.

As they prepared for her father's cremation, her sobs grew louder and more desperate.

Officer Park, the only officer and the only person present along with them, tried to give her a comforting hug, but the pain was too intense for Liora to bear quietly.

Her cries echoed with such intensity that they seemed capable of awakening the entire world, rattling many hearts.

"Don't go, Papa. Please come back!" She wailed.

Officer Park's heart clenched painfully as he looked at the little girl's sorrow. He held Liora in a tight embrace while casting a concerned glance at Amara, who refused to shed a single tear. She gently brushed her husband's shaved head as if coaxing him to sleep.

"Liora, don't cry." The officer hugged Liora. "Send your father a smile so he can go to the afterlife peacefully." Said Officer Park.

He wanted to alleviate Liora's pain, and to do that; he would stay by her side until she felt better. He couldn't abandon her. It wasn't only his duty as an officer anymore but also a moral responsibility as a human being.

She looked at the officer, "I don't want to cause trouble to Papa."

Liora sobbed softly in a barely audible voice amid her tears at the thought of making her father hurt due to her crying. No, she would not want that.

Mark's body was transferred to the cremation chamber, where it would undergo the cremation process, and after a while, his body turned into ashes.

After the cremation, a nurse approached them with a small urn containing Mark's ashes.

Liora took the urn in her shivering hands and revisited the memories of her father, how he would always make her laugh with his silly jokes and how he would comfort her whenever she was scared. But now, he is gone...forever.

Officer Park drove Liora and Amara back to their home, ensuring they were safely settled. Despite the heavy atmosphere, he remained present on their front porch, in case they needed any help.

As time went by, Officer Park sat in a chair on the front porch and observed the surroundings. Not a single neighbour ventured to visit or offer comfort to the grieving family. It was as though Amara and her daughter were invisible.

Amara was still clad in black attire and took a seat on the couch facing the front door. Her eyes remained fixed on the door as if waiting for Mark to walk through it at any moment.

Liora carefully placed the urn containing her father's ashes on a glass shelf in the living room, between their happy family photographs.

"This is where you belong, Papa, surrounded by our happy memories. I hope now you are happy..."