A Birthday and a Burial
"Lina, I failed you."
Meanwhile, Dad suddenly remembered the bouquet I had bought for Mom. He questioned the janitor, checked the logs, and searched through garbage trucks one by one.
From sunrise to sunset, he kept looking, even getting mistaken for a scavenger and driven off three times. Finally, he found it.
The lilies had long since turned yellow. They were crushed, wilted, and covered in mold—just like what had become of me. He took the flowers to Mom's grave, a place I had never been allowed to visit.