30

"She died," he replied to her.

His reply hit Josie like a sharp pin in her chest. She was expecting something like 'she left' or 'I never got to see her again' or 'she travelled and forgot about me' or anything related to that, but she was totally not expecting something like death. "I'm. . . I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, so why are you apologizing?"

"I never thought it could be something like that. I'm sorry for asking. It must have been hard for you to tell me that."

"No. It wasn't. I was unable to forgive myself when she died. Do you want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because I could not fulfill my mother's dying wish. She asked me to protect her, but I couldn't. That time was the worst time for me and I regret every thing that happened." Closing his eyes repeatedly, he fought back the tears that formed in his eyes. "Enough about Annette" He told her, trying to smile. "Was there a time when you were young that you felt bad? Probably because of something that happened?"

"Actually, I. .