She got up, drenched with sweat. For the fifth night in a row, she had had that same nightmare. And she woke up every time, rushing to her room to check if she was alright. Only to remember.
Mona had gotten up this time, but hadn't immediately rushed into Lily's room. Instead, she sat up straight and tried breathing properly. She knew what had happened, at this point it had become some sort of routine. She slowly got up, bringing her phone in place of a flashlight. She opened the room to her door and looked around to see if anybody was there. She shook her head. Why would anyone be here? She had divorced Jack a while ago, so it's only her and Lily. At least, it was.
Mona opened the door to Lily's room and heard that very familiar creek. Just a week ago, Lily had complained to her about how her door was the loudest thing in the house. She even went out of the way to compare it to a dog barking in a quiet alley. Then, Mona had brushed it aside.
"Maybe some time next month. Right now I'm focused on something else." She said.
Now, she chuckles to herself, thinking of Lily's dumb comparison. She wipes a fallen tear and wishes she would've paid attention to her then. Mona walks inside, looking around. Nothing had changed. Why would it have? Nobody came into the house besides Mona. And, even if they had, Lily's room was off limits.
Mona turned on the LED circular lights Lily had insisted on installing and glances around. On her desk was Lily's phone. By it, was Lily's favorite snack, something she had bought merely hours before-
Mona looked around some more, only to see Lily's bed was beyond messed up.
"Lil-" she caught herself.
She sunk into a chair, sobs threatening to take over her body. Everyday, the pain felt like it was getting worse. She couldn't shake herself out of the habit of calling out Lily's name every time she noticed something was off. Why would she? Lily had been her daughter, and that too for 16 years.
Mona hastily wiped away all the tears, looking around once again. Her eyes laid on Lily's pictures hanging up on the wall. She got up, and went to pick one off. She graced her around on the picture, focusing on Lily's smile.
She was beautiful. She would never stop smiling, always energetic and always happy. Then why?
Mona hugged the picture to her chest and fell to the floor, on her knees. Her chest ached of the pain. Sobs were freely falling out of her mouth, her tears like a river down her face.
"Please, come back. I'm so sorry, my baby." Mona kept saying, rocking back and forth now.
She sat like that on the floor for half and hour, hugging the picture. She got up and hung the picture on the wall. Nothing could ever tarnish Lily's room.
She slowly walked over to Lily's desk again and grabbed the folded papers she hadn't opened since she first saw them.
Mona sat on Lily's bed and slowly opened them.
Lily's handwriting hit her. And at the top it said,
"My Suicide Letter"
YOU ARE READING
I Hope I'm Making You Proud
AdventureShe wiped the tears off her face, smudging her mascara. She let herself fall, and now, she was on her knees in the tall grass. She looked up at the sky and smiled. Her first genuine smile since it had happened. "We did it. Can you hear me?" She say...
