Chapter 24
On the day of Melanie’s burial, Nathen walked out of the house early in the morning.
He shaved his beard, cut his hair short, took a shower, and changed into a black outfit.
After going downstairs, he threw away the cleaned garbage, lifted his head, and stared at the room on the seventh floor with blue curtains hanging for a long, long time.
When the first ray of sun rose in the early morning, he turned around, took out a key from his
pocket, removed the doll on top of it, and threw the key into the sewer.
Afterwards, he entered the garage and drove straight to South Mountain. He didn’t know which plot
was Melanie’s grave, so he had to look at each one from the bottom up.
When he reached halfway up the mountain and saw Tara bowing, his whole body relaxed.
He wiped the sweat off his forehead and walked over step by step, gently calling out, “Mom.”
Tara ignored him.
She squatted down and placed the bouquet of lilies in her hand in front of the tombstone. Then, she took out a handkerchief and wiped off the dirt and dust that had smudged the tombstone.
She didn’t get up until she had wiped the tombstone clean, and then she looked at Nathen’s empty
hands.
“What did you come for?”
Her tone was very cold and indifferent, as if she was asking a stranger passing by.
Nathen didn’t care.
From the moment he saw his mother for the first time, his gaze never wavered.
Tara couldn’t see his face, so she didn’t know what complex emotions were in his eyes at that
moment.
He took a deep breath, suppressed the sour emotions welling up inside him, and pretended to be
unaffected.
“Come and have a look at you.”
“I was not dead yet.”
In this place, when Nathen heard the word “death“, his hand inside his sleeve trembled a few times.
He managed to force a smile.
“How can you say such things, Mom? You will definitely live a long life, healthy and strong until old
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age.”
Upon hearing these words, Tara finally lifted her head and glanced at him, her face tense.
“Are you still able to laugh? Did drinking alcohol ruin your brain?”
Nathen was very sober.
He shook his head and turned to look at the photo on the tombstone.
“What was buried inside?” “A bracelet.”
Looking at his mother’s empty wrist, Nathen recalled the scene on the day of her wedding.
He had meticulously prepared for the wedding for half a year and it began amidst the sound of Mireworks.
He carried Melanie home and pointed to the apartment covered with double happiness characters on all sides, telling her that this would be their future home.
Two people respectfully served tea to the three elderly people sitting at the top and sent them the prepared gifts one by one.
Peter got a watch; Tara and Mary Perez, Melanie’s mother, each got a pair of bracelets.
At that time, the five people who formed a family were all smiling from ear to ear, thinking that this would be the beginning of happiness.
Three years had passed, and the Perez family reunited in heaven.
Only he and his mother were left, standing in front of the empty gravesite, reminiscing about the same person, the same moment.
Nathen wanted to comfort her with a few words, but he couldn’t find the right words to say.
Because he understood better than anyone else that in this situation, all languages were powerless and pale.
He could only step forward and help her up, step by step, slowly leaving this place of sadness.
After returning to the suburban neighborhood, Nathen did not go upstairs. He watched the elevator slowly descending from the 31st floor and glanced at his mother’s hair, which had turned half white. He slightly parted his lips and spoke in a weak voice.
“Mom, the New Year is coming soon. This year, I won’t be able to accompany you. If you feel lonely by yourself, you can go to Aunt’s house. Remember to go for a medical check–up after the New Year…”
He rambled on and on, and as Tara listened, she furrowed her brow.
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“Why were you so talkative today?”
Nathen lowered his eyes, concealing the emotions in his eyes.
“Nothing, it’s just been a long time since I talked to you…”
He did not say the last sentence.
The elevator door opened, and he watched his mother enter the elevator. He finally walked out of
the door when the nearby display screen stopped at the 12th floor.
Before driving, he took out his phone, edited a message, and sent it to Kenna.
“Traveling, are you going again?”
