Left Behind

This Is Life

Thursday-

There Jessica stood wearing a black dress that went to her knees. She stared at herself in the mirror. Black dresses, she hated them. Sadly, she always found herself wearing one. Death... it was so unfair. God took away the worlds most precious people. He took away the ones that deserved to live. So many wonderful people were taken from Jessica's family and friends. Death was a recurring situation. A situation that Jessica wishes she could put an end to. Ever since Jessica got into town there was this feeling of sadness that peaked back into her life. She was able to get ahold of Danny. It was a relief to hear his voice. He wanted to see her, it was just hard. He was with lots of family.

So there Jessica stood in her black dress. Her hair sat on her shoulders, her heels were strapped around her ankles, and the sadness stayed in her heart.

Dorthy walks into Jessica's old room. She sits on Jessica's bedside and watches her daughter stand their in silence.

"We should leave soon... the service starts at nine." Dorthy says softly

"I can't believe it... still." Jessica mumbles

"He was an amazing man. He helped us out, a lot."

"Days like this just bring me back."

Dorthy sighs... she stands up and rest her head on Jessica's shoulder. She looks in the mirror as well.

"It does for me too. Seeing you in this dress again... the sadness... the heart break..."

"It's all unfair. Danny's family doesn't deserve this. We didn't deserve it. Ann and the kids didn't deserve it. No one deserves the pain of losing someone."

"Sadly, that's life. I wish it wasn't this way."

**

At the funeral Jessica ran into lots of old friends. She got to see lots of Danny's distant relatives too, surprisingly they all remembered her. When they got to the church Jessica immediately saw Danny standing with his sister, Angelica. Jessica's first instinct was to walk over, but she wanted to give him time with guest.

Jessica stood with her sister Jane and Ann before the service. Suddenly, Jessica felt a hand touch her side. Startled at first she quickly turned around. Then she saw Danny. He looked skinner. He had grown out his facial hair. His eyes were droopy. The light was taken out of them. He gave Jessica a soft smile. She immediately wrapped her arms around him and held him for a bit.

"Thank you for coming... I'm happy to see you."

"Me too, I wanted to say hi but you looked a bit busy."

"It's been complete chaos, every second of everyday. I just need a breather."

"I'm sorry..." Jessica becomes discouraged

"This is life. I just have to remember it's tough but I'm tougher, right?"

Jessica puts her hands on his upper arms and nods. "Right."

**
The service was extremely sad. Multiple people, including Danny spoke very kind words about John. It was heart wrenching. Jessica saw how emotionally deprived Danny was. He looked drained. Jessica knew exactly how he felt. She would never wish that feeling on anyone, but sadly it happened to Danny. She watched as Danny and his brothers stayed strong and held back the tears while his sisters and mother could barely keep it together.

After the service they all went into a dinning hall. Jessica spoke with some old friends, Danny's mom, and siblings.

Towards the end of the night he walked up to Jessica at her chair and took her hand.