She stares blankly at the fresh mounted grave, her eyes swelled with tears as she stood alone by her mother's tomb. Cherie kept memorizing the words that utter from the doctor's lips. A heart attack.
No. This can't be. She's heavy with her booze. She smokes. But it's too soon. Too soon to leave me this way. Cherie argued in her mind.
I'm sorry, mama. I'm sorry that I left you. She apologized, the regretful emotions clenched her heart deeply.
Cherie stray her gaze away from the grave. She saw the vast field of tombstones laid across the green pasture as far as she could see. She stood alone. The priest had left, George never came to the funeral and she had no relatives whom she knew of till this point. Her legs felt numb and her body began to tire. She prayed her mother to rest in peace and walked away. Her chest felt heavy with grief with every step she took but she has to move on.
DennisMart sets out ten blocks away from Matilda St, it's where Cherie works as a full time retail staff after she dropped out from school. She had no interests in her grades anymore and she sees an opportunity to be independently earning and living out from her nest. Especially when George started to stay in more often, as and when he wanted to. She felt there's no privacy and the place she calls home begin to look like a pig's sty day by day. Beer cans here and there. Dirty clothes on the couch, on the floor. Leftover pizzas and take-away chinese food on the dining table, it all adds up to the frustrations she's going through. She couldn't take it anymore. And so she left the house.
"Hey, Cher." Neha greets.
"Hi, Neha." Cherie smiled. She kept her hands busy stocking up the candy bars on the rack.
"You going down to Zack's for lunch?" Neha asked.
"Yup. You coming along?"
"Sure. See ya later." Neha chirped, she turned and disappeared towards the next aisle.
Neha and Cherie sat by the window for lunch. Neha lets her black velvet hair fell over her shoulders; her cocoa-colored skin composed an Indian beauty with shapely upper lips, wide twinkled-eyes and well-shaped eyebrows. Neha's jovial nature made Cherie comfortable to befriend with, Neha kept every conversation with Cherie to a limit. She never question Cherie about her background or parents or school. It does made Cherie wonder at one point of time, if Neha, too, shared the same fate as herself. Or has she engaged herself in a more complicated and sad past which made her easily deduce into Cherie's situation. Cherie was reminded by her mother's favourite quote. Some things are better left unsaid. She chew on her fries and let her break time past and enjoy the company of her friend, Neha.
