Jennifer Rosa Weeners

We stood at the same spot for a long while. He cried and cried. He did not seem that he would stop any time soon. The park was not very crowded, just like the area we lived in. But there were still some elderly people taking a stroll around the park. Most of them knew us. Feeling a little awkward, I tried to take him home.

All the way, he tried hard to control his tears. When we were by the gate of our home, he was reluctant to get in. After all, mom was home and she was in the dark of the recent developments around her.

I decided it was better to go somewhere else until he lets it all out. His hand was in mine as I walked to the car that was parked outside the main door. He resisted and decided to wait where he was. I walked to the car and drove it towards him.

Thankfully mom was not around and we quickly drove away after he sat in. "Call dad and inform him." I told him and he pulled out his cell phone and made the call.

"You shouldn't be driving. I'll drive." Though I did not want to let him drive right then, my discomfort did not allow it. I drove to the side of the road and stooped. Once we exchanged seats, I told him to drive towards the other end of the town, just in search of another calm and peaceful park.

The car moved past the trees, houses, vehicles and the road. "We haven't decided on the name yet." It was not even a month since we found out that the baby was a girl.

"Jenny sounds lovely and right. Jennifer Rosa Weeners." He spoke with a quick glance at me. I spoke no more, tacitly agreeing with him. That was the name I had in my mind too. But I did not dare to express it. It would be asking too much.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked as we waited on another red light. The clocked showed that it was 11:06 AM. More than four hours had gone by without notice in the leisure drive. Taking in the surroundings, I thought we were lost. I looked at him and he shared the same thought. We laughed at ourselves as he retrieved his phone and opened Maps.

"If you have calmed down, then we should just go home." He looked fine.

"It will take at least two and a half hours on the shortest route." He gave me the phone. Though it was Sunday and there was little traffic, it would take so much time. Looking at the route on the map, I realized we had driven past another adjacent town and if we continued, we would enter another town. We were now at a highway crossing, at a deserted land between the towns.

The signal changed and James promptly drifted the car to the centre and made a U-turn. After driving for half an hour, we were in a town. We came to stop at a cozy restaurant.

"It's a little early, but we'll have lunch here. Or we will have to wait at least another hour."

"Let's go." We entered and ordered. We started eating and I frowned. "You are eating lesser and lesser each day!" And now it was ever lesser.

"I know… Do you always have to say the same old thing? It's outside food after all."

"I'll eat more," He added a little later and smiled.

I did not know how it all happened. But, right at this moment, I know that he won't live long and I am still standing okay. Truth to be told, when that fateful accident happened years ago, I was a very small girl. I did not know what life and death was. I did not even know that there existed something like death. By the time, I finally understood the true meaning of my parents and my little sister never coming back, I was already taken in by mom and dad. By then, I had already cried out all my tears and I was already used to the idea. When I finally took in that what happened to them was death, I did not feel any sadder. I only asked mom to take me to their graves which I had not seen till then. I had not known they existed.

They all came along. Mom, dad, James and I sat in silence before their graves. After that day, I did not cry over them. I knew I had to be happy for these people who accompanied me that day.

After that, I only visited their stones four times, on certain important occasions.