My little love

Untitled Part 1

Clara pulled her coat closer to her, attempting to somewhat stay warm in the freezing weather. Her eyes were red and puffy and her nose hadn't stopped running in hours. Although these problems were side effects of the temperature, they were mainly side effects of death. Other side effects of death also included an extremely heavy and tired heart, much heavier than her eyelids from the countless sleepless nights she had been receiving for the past seven days. Seven days ago Clara's world changed forever when she lost her daughter. Seven days ago Clara was clueless to the fact that it would be the last time she would ever see her little angel's smiling face again as she bundled her up in two layers of clothing, put on her classic brown winter coat and gloves, and kissed her gently on the cheek "Goodbye my little love" Clara can still hear her own voice clearly saying. "I'll see you later when you get home. Have a great day and be good, okay. I love you so much." She can even more clearly her little Ava's voice"I'll be very good mommy, I promise. I love you much more"  And then she blew kisses and walked out the door and got into her friend Gracie's  mom's car and they drove off to go ice skating. 

Clara would've went. She had thought about it when her daughter kept pleading with her. "C'mon mommy" Ava had relentlessly begged the previous day. "It'll be so much fun"she had insisted in her excited and animated voice that Clara adored endlessly. Always a happy girl, she was. "C'mon mommy" she had tried again. "I want you to be there. " 

Clara had just fondly shook her head. "I'm sorry my little love" she had said "But I'm afraid it isn't my cup of tea. I probably wouldn't be very much fun" she had chuckled softly, giving Ava's hand a squeeze. 'I'll tell you what though. On sunday, we'll do something awesome, okay?  How about a tea party? How does that sound?You can invite your friends over, too. We'll make a whole thing out of it. Would you like that? "

The way her daughter's eyes had lit up at the idea had made Clara's heart swell with love. "Really mommy? Could we really?" She had jumped up and down and done her own very personal happy dance, threw her hands up in the air and spun around three times. " I'm already counting down, mommy. I'm still sad you won't be there tomorrow, but I'm so happy about Sunday. Thank you mommy  You're the bestest  mommy in the whole wide world! " She had exclaimed "I can't wait to tell Gracie! Could I tell Jamie, too? And Sarah? She had questioned, but didn't wait for an answer before skipping away while happily humming the tune of "You are my sunshine" 

Clara had smiled, so thankful for her little girl, and went to the kitchen to prepare lunch. Craft Mac&Cheese with Mango applesauce. She knew it wasn't anywhere near the healthiest, but it was Ava's favorite and she had been feeling extra mushy that day. After lunch was cooked, Clara had went to go let Ava know. "Knock knock" she had said, opening her bedroom door to see the little girl dancing without a care in the world to some catchy pop song she didn't know the name of. "C'mon, my little dancing queen. I made lunch. It's your favorite." 

As they ate, they talked amongst themselves about nothing in particular. When they finished, they played board games. Of course they played Scrabble first, Ava's favorite, even though she didn't know how to play very well. That's okay, Clara had thought, because she had no doubt she was worse. After they had finally tired of playing games, Clara suggested that Ava take a nice pink bubble bath to which she had more than readily agreed, asking if after they could have a marathon of My Little Pony and Clara couldn't say no. 

When Ava's eyes had began closing, it was around 10:00 pm, so Clara had attempted to carry the little girl to bed without Stirring her. Unfortunately, it didn't work and within seconds, Ava had looked up at her and smiled sleepily. "Do I still get a story?" She had asked tiredly. Clara had been hesitant . "I don't know my little love. It's a bit late. Wouldn't you prefer to have some sweet dreams now?" She had said, laying her under the comforter just the way she liked it and double checking twice in her mind that her teeth were brushed.  " I want my story mommy. I always have a story at night. Story, mommy.  There's plenty of time to sleep later" Ava had persisted. Clara had gave in and read her part of Alice In wonderland, promising to continue the next day. Once Ava had drifted off, Clara kissed her forehead and plugged in her Hello Kitty nightlight, closing her door halfway, and then going into her own room to get some shut eye. 

The next day, Saturday, Ava had woken up around 8:00 am  and immediately started talking about going ice skating later that day. "I'm so excited mommy. I've been waiting all week and now it's finally here! Gracie 's excited too, mommy. Are you sure you don't want to come with? Gracie would love for you to, mommy. I know you said no before, but I just wanna make extra sure, mommy. Well, don't be sad because we're gonna have a super fun day tomorrow mommy and I love you so much. "

At around 6:00 pm that evening Gracie's mom arrived. Clara had said her goodbyes and expected to hear all about Ava's day when she got home. Instead, at around 10:00 pm Clara had gotten a dreadful phone call...