life must continue

 It was already weeks since Merliah's funeral. It was a day of loud cries. Seeing an angel inside a coffin. Her classmates came that time. They would say, “ She's just sleeping,right?”, “When will she wake up? We haven't finish our homeworks yet. Can you wake her up?”. It broke my heart into million pieces. 

I always keep my eyes on Kira and Miss Mia. I know, they are the most affected here. I would sometime catch Kira crying in the corner when no one's looking. I couldn't afford to see her like that. No words could comfort her, tight hugs are what I can give. 

Miss Mia- she's the bravest. When someone sends their condolences, she would give them a warm smile, trying really hard to not break down. I admire her that. I want to give her a hug every minute to let her feel that she's alone in this battle. Even though she's strong enough to carry all the pains, it doesn't mean she deserved it.

The time we buried her on the ground, the cries of her friends made me completely shattered. They cried while begging to not bury Merliah. They say she can't breathe being in the ground. Their innocence and them-being pure, it made me sob until I run out of tears.

We stand here by the seashore, gathered together. Tim next to me, his hand is entangled to mine, Sir Flinn, Miss Mia and Kira beside her.

I got no words to utter. I can already feel the lump in my throat and my eyes are stinging. I look down, watching my shoes like they are the most interesting thing in the world.

“Life...” Miss Mia started.“..must continue...”she continued and it made me look up in the sky again. “ Merliah must be sad right now looking at us. She's a beautiful soul...” Kira paused. I glanced at her and I saw her wiped her tears.

“So she had to leave..”

Hearing it made my tears streamed down to my cheeks.

 I took a deep breathe and gulped before speaking. “ We all know how hard it is to lose fine creature.” my voice cracked. “ We're letting you go now, beautiful. Fly high, Merliah.” 

“ Until we meet again,young lady”, said Sir Flinn who's staring at the blue sky with teary eyes.

I felt Tim tighten his hold of my hand. So I gazed at him and notice he's trying hard to not cry. “ Are you here with us, Merliah?” 

It made me weak. Then seconds pass, the wind blows warmly. That time, we knew, she's with us. Always. It made us sob. Even though she's not physically here, she'll be forever alive in our hearts and minds.

We went back to the stall again. It's been a long time since the last time I visited here. We entered the store quietly. Then silence covered the four-cornered room.

“Everyone!” Miss Mia shouted that made me brought back to my senses. The three of us exchange stares then Miss Mia continued speaking. “I just think... what if we'll open the store tomorrow. Whatcha think?” she said in a very jolly tone. 

“Tomorrow? like literally... Tomorrow?!” Tim said in disbelief.

Miss Mia rolled her eyes and chuckled lightly. “Cmon, we've wasted so much time.” she stated. I stared at her, she's an expert in hiding her emotions.

“Okay! We'll open tomorrow!” said Sir Flinn.

What?!