All i did was kiss her hand'

Chapter 18

“ you still aren’t talking to grandmother?” Eric asks pouring a glass of water for her

“ jee, don’t even try and convince me to talk to her. She still refuses to tell me.”

“Maybe it’s for your own good that you don’t know…”

“What are you implying,” she asks standing up, “ how dare you do this again, we spoke about this.”

“You need to let it go!”

“Fine, you start then...let go of your father's approval then since we picking at each other's faults!”

“ there was no need to go there.”

“ you started,” she said leaving his office.

Her entire life she never bothered knowing about her parent's whereabouts, but after finding out that things are a lot deeper than they seem…she decided to walk out of her bubble…but it was pointless if grandmother kept on refusing to tell her everything.

“ Today you’ll be assigned to teenagers, ” the director said handing out worksheets, “go out and change a life, if there are no questions you guys may proceed to the checkpoint.”

They left after saluting her, Arylans first face to face task since she began working at the institution, she took her car and after running through a few maps met up with the person she needed to see. She waited patiently as she sipped her ice water, analyzing the documents at hand.

“ are you my newly appointed social worker?” she asked placing her school bag onto the table.

“Jee, pleasure to meet you, I’m Arylan white. I was told that you were in your final high school year.”

“Excuse me…” she said frowning, “ what’s your name again.”

“Arylan white…”

The teenager placed her seat back into the table, “ I have a test to study for, I’ll call you if I need anything..”

“wait, ” Arylan said running behind her, “ you don’t have my number.”

“Oh, she said scanning her phone, anything else?”

“no thank you, just this gift I wanted to give to you after our talk, I hope you open up to me next time, ” she said leaving

Who was this teenager?

***

“you're telling me you guys fought again?” Aiden said collecting their food…as they walked across each other.

“ Unfortunately, I don’t get why is he always sensitive about me wanting to find my parents. He’s starting to get on my nerves, this time I won’t forgive him easily.”

“ don’t say that, you guys will fall out sometimes but you'll always be there to catch each other.”

“im afraid not this time.”

They sat at a park sipping on their ice tea as they ate the takeaway present there, chatting about work…when it started raining Aiden took off his coat and covered the both of them until they reached a bus stop, where they sat and waited. Eric was riding past so he stopped to give them a ride.

The car filled with silence, Aiden stuck in between the both of them. Arylan arrived home, slamming Eric's door.

“ Uncle Tim, what are you doing here at this hour, ” she asks stopping at their door.

“ I just came to see Biel she wasn’t feeling well earlier, but she’s fine now.”

“ I’ll take it from here then.”

“ I know, you still can’t forgive her, but grasp every moment you have with her. She’s old remember.”

“Jee…”

She walked in placing her bag onto the counter, walking over to grandmother seated in the dining room coughing non-stop. She made lemon tea sitting it on the table in front of grandmother.

“ Do you need a doctor,” she asks looking down

“ Tim already took me. Don’t stress..” she smiles weakly, “ I’m still as healthy as always…”

“ you’ve always been a healthy soul, a fresh burst of air. If your okay, I’ll get going then.”

“Arylan, ”she said grabbing her hand, “ forgive me okay…for everything.”

“I forgive you, ” she said kissing her hand. “ I just need time.”

She went to bed that night, waking up to the body of her grandmother in the living room. She was cold and swollen…

She rushed out of the house over to Uncle Tims place, after calling an ambulance, paramedics declared her dead. Arylan holding her breath, before letting out a loud cry as they chased her out of the ward…how could it be? She was perfectly fine last night.

After spending several hours in tears, Aiden and Eric arrived to comfort her…she didn’t move away from the body or speak. After they collected the samples from her body she was sent to be buried.

Arylan washing the body of the woman, who was once washing her own. Lifting each limb completing the job with the woman around her. The Janazah was complete, and everyone was sent home that night. This time she was really gone, no note left, no last meal…she won’t see her face light up with a smile, no more warm hugs…no more genuine looks. She was really alone this time, with no parents, no grandmother, no sibling.

Aiden walked into her living room passing a bottle of water to her. He wiped away the tears on her cheeks, “ you'll be okay,”

While they were seated two women walked into the house, a slightly looking older one, and a younger woman. They were there for the funeral service as well…

“We heard about what happened…” the younger one said