I'm moving back to Palm Springs tomorrow morning, living under the roof of my grandparents.
My mother and I moved to Dallas, Texas when I was thirteen, leaving my grandparents heartbroken, because my mother got a job offer that she just couldn't turn down.
I only got to see my grandparents on holidays and I am fairly close with the both of them so I'm truly grateful to have them here for me and with me through this living hell; but I'm sorry to say that I'd trade their lives for my mother's. Horrible I know, but when you lose the only parent left in your life, everything around you turns cold and grey. I love them, don't ever doubt that but I miss my mom more than anything in the world.
Four months ago, I thought I would've been the one in a casket being buried six feet under, but I was wrong. My mother is the one in that casket and she's the one who left me all alone.
My grandparents take the stand, my grandmother crying hysterically and my grandfather expressionless.
She pulls out a piece of paper and starts speaking into the microphone, while reading the paper.
"My daughter's my sunshine. Most of you know her as Georgia or Georgie. To us, she's sunshine," she says through gritted teeth.
She's trying to hold back the tears and fighting the urge to break down. That much is clear, so my grandfather decided to take the paper from her hands and start speaking into the microphone, his hands trembling. My grandmother walks behind him and covers her teary face.
"Georgina is a very special woman, she was smart, beautiful, and loved by many. We are so proud of her. We are so happy to have had a child like her. We will miss her smile and her laughter so very much. Knowing that I will never be able to hear her voice ever again makes me want to leave this world just to hear and see her one more time. But I can't do that. Georgina gave birth to a very beautiful and wise lady who I can't leave behind. And every time I look into her beautiful green eyes, Georgina will be at the back of my mind." He looks up at the sky and says, "We love you so very much Sunshine, you don't have to worry about her, we'll take care of her."
And with that, my grandmother starts sobbing non-stop, as I sit here numb and expressionless.
I haven't cried once since she died. It'll make it all too real and seeing my grandparents this way makes me want to run to my mother's casket, hug her cold, pale corpse and cry until I can't anymore. Most people cry every day and lock themselves in their bedroom to grieve but this is how I'm going to cope with it, whether my grandparents like it or not.
Suddenly, my grandfather's voice snaps me back to reality.
"Paisley, it's your turn to speak," my grandfather says, as he lightly pats my shoulder.
I nervously walk up to the podium and take out the piece of paper I was working on last night. I adjust the microphone and start speaking.
"The day my mother died was the day the doctor told me I could live four more months of my life. Four months before that, the doctor told me that I would die yesterday. Four months later, I'm alive and breathing while she lays there in the casket with her beautiful green eyes sealed shut-forever." I say, my voice weak, while holding back tears. "I will never be able to come home to the smell of her burnt lasagna, which she made every single Sunday." I smile at the memory. "I will never be able to hug her or see her beautiful smile, ever again," my eyes are starting to water but I hold back; knowing that I'm about to burst into tears, I speed up my speech.
YOU ARE READING
Wasted Time
Teen Fiction"You're dying," he says, "You have at least 4 months." I know I'm supposed to be sad or cry but instead I say, "Oh cool." Paisley Archer is dying from cancer. She has four months to do all the things in life she hasn't done. But four months la...
