6. Grave

Today Camilla went to the graves of Aruna and Aldo. Camilla cried again at the cemetery, plastered on the tombstone of Aruna's name, and next to it was a tombstone named Aldo. Camilla blamed herself again while beating her chest.

"I'm sorry for surviving alone, why did you leave me, why didn't you take me along? Why do I have to survive alone?"

Tears streamed down her face as she turned and faced away from the grave. "Why do we have to be alone?" With that, she cried loudly.  She fell to her knees and curled up into a ball. She began to rock back and forth and screamed.

"Aruna, Aldo, please don't leave me alone!" Camilla cried loudly, after their deaths, she could no longer remember whether she was still living with him or not.

"Don't leave me alone again!" Her voice sounded like a baby's.

 "What will happen to me when you die? Are you going to say that I will be able to get through it, the answer is impossible, because you will guide me to happiness. I wish I had your strength. I also want to live, Aruna, Aldo!"

It was like a dam broke in Camilla's throat and she couldn't stop crying.  "Please, stay alive, come back to life. Tell me how to live my life!" As she cried, more and more tears came out of her eyes. Camilla's body gave in and she slowly fell limp.

Mrs. Kate cajoled and warned Camilla not to go back into shock and severe trauma at a funeral like this.

After a while of being calmed down, thankfully, Camilla was able to regain control. She asked to go home as she didn't want to go too far as she knew it would only trouble her and her mother at the funeral.

 Mrs. Kate told him that he should rest. "and we will talk again later."

Camilla and her mother returned home in the afternoon. In the car on the way home, Camilla didn't say much. She was silent and looked out of the window. The tears had dried on her cheeks.

When he finally left the tomb and returned home, all he did was brood until he fell asleep.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Kate just sighed in concern for her daughter. She thought her daughter was having some sort of attack but soon realized that there was no one there but them.

Before Camilla lay down to sleep, Camilla thought of Aldo and Aruna who always looked after her when they were little and he used to support her while studying or carrying her favorite things. Camilla missed him a lot now that Aldo was gone and she wished he was there to share his last moments with her. She wondered if the people she met at college would be surprised by what happened to her.

Dianne felt numb and she thought of nothing but how happy she was to have survived the tragedy. This was indeed the worst thing in her life. Although she lost Aruna and Aldo and had to find other ways to make amends without her friends, the fact that she was able to survive and continue to thrive was something Camilla would not trade.

Although at times she felt her life was empty without the warmth, love, laughter, and care of the two people she loved and missed so much. It had been two weeks since the funeral and Camilla tried to cope by working in the garden or helping her mum with the housework.

Her mother didn't force her to go out, she knew Camilla didn't need socializing, especially not at this time. She understands her needs and she also doesn't want to stress her daughter out because Camilla also needs a break.

Camilla tried to distract herself, but there were days when she couldn't concentrate and she couldn't sleep well and she would wake up tired all the time. There were times when she wanted to scream because all she wanted to do was run and get away from everything. After all, she didn't know what else to do. She wanted to be free but she couldn't, and she didn't know what else to do but work hard in the garden and look after her mother's business.

Camilla didn't have to worry about anything other than survival, and it wasn't easy to get a job when her mental health was still reeling.

It wasn't just the lack of sleep, nightmares, and feelings of emptiness that plagued her, Camilla also felt the loss of friends and people she thought she would always know forever. Camilla didn't have many friends at first. They came to her for one reason or another, and that one reason was not always good. But she tried to try. She tried to make her best friends and family proud and she didn't even succeed with that. Those closest to her were probably more affected because her leaving affected them too.

Mrs Kate was worried because her only daughter seemed lonely and she was worried about how Camilla would be without everyone's support.

Especially when Mrs. Kate often sees Camilla looking sadder these days.

Dr. Miranda, a psychologist dealing with the aftermath of Camilla's tragedy, was concerned that something was wrong with Camilla. She couldn't pinpoint it and she didn't feel comfortable asking Camilla what was wrong. The psychologist was worried, and she thought Camilla was depressed. Camilla never talked about her problems with anyone.

"We need to address this immediately, Mrs Kate. I apologize for letting Camilla be like this," said Dr. Miranda.

"I am even more than that. I don't want my daughter to drown in sorrow. She's already too broken. I couldn't bear it if she had to mortgage her future. It's as if she has no future," said Kate with a sad face.

"In that case, I have a few solutions that you can try with Camilla," says Dr . Miranda

"What is it?" asked Mrs. Kate with a look of interest.

"You can try to get Dianne to remember her goals. Remind her of her dream job," suggests Dr. Miranda.

"Hmm, I don't think that's a bad idea," nodded Mrs Kate. "I think I should gently encourage Camilla to rethink her future."

"I hope that doesn't put too much pressure on Camilla," Dr. Miranda said softly because, in her experience and case, patients traumatized by tragedy rarely recover quickly.