Floral Mementos

I went to hold her. For the first time, I did not need to put myself in someone's shoes to really understand what they were going through. I understood her perfectly.

'Lily would not make such a decision unless she knew it was absolutely necessary. Let's be happy for the time we got to spend with her.' I did not know if it was the right thing to say but it was what I wanted to hear.

Emily and I stayed there for a while, crying and sobbing and silently wishing Lily had not signed those papers, for at least another month.

'She told me not to cry. She told me to stay strong for her and I really am trying but it is very difficult Kassandra. It really is.' Emily leaned into my arms.

It was difficult for me too. I could only imagine how much hurt Emily went through watching life leave her only child. Her Lily.

'Her last words were 'take care.' I could not take anymore of what was going on so I left the room.' She chuckled.

Lily seemed like someone that would say such. She was the most free spirited person I knew.

She took days as they came and never really bothered what happened next. I genuinely loved her and I knew she felt the same way.

'I wish I was there to spend her last moments with her.' I held Emily tighter. I was going to make myself feel very bad about neglecting my friend for as long as possible.

'She asked about you a couple of times so she decided to text. Or did she not?' She raised her head to look at me.

'Yes she did. She told me goodbye. I thought she was joking but now I know it's all real and there's nothing I can do about it.' I chuckled.

Emily was going to have to go through Lily's death alone. Albert was not there to crack his jokes and I could not be with her all the time.

Laura was the only one she had to comfort her and Laura even looked like she needed some comforting too.

'I miss my baby but I am going to be strong for her. It is the least I can do.' She stood up and cleaned her face.

Lily looked so much like her. They had the same high cheek bones and their lips were curved in the same way.

I knew she did not think Lily looked like her because every time I brought it up, she said she did not see any resemblance and she always thought Lily looked like Albert.

I was going to have a hard time looking at Emily. She was going to remind me so much of Lily and it was going to be very painful for me.

'Are you hungry? We could go out for lunch.' She walked to a picture of Lily that was on the tv shelf and she picked it up.

I was still too shocked from earlier with George to feel hungry.

'No. I'm fine. I'll just have water.' I stood up and went to the kitchen.

Everything in the kitchen was either gray or white. Lily picked the color and I thought it was very nice because it made everything look really clean.

Emily went out of her way to make sure the pots and cutleries were white or gray too. Everything in the house reminded me of her.

'Kass, this picture of Lily is my favorite picture of her. She was four.' Emily was in the kitchen, still holding the frame with Lily's picture in it.

I felt pity for her. She was going to suffer the most because Lily was really the only one she had. Whenever Albert went on his never ending trip, Lily was always there to make Emily feel better.

'She was four, I had just gotten her the trampoline because she really wanted to play in it and whenever we went to the park, the older children would jump on her so I made her stop using it and promised to get the one for just her. Albert took the picture.' She was staring hard at the picture.

She was not crying anymore. She was smiling. It was a beautiful memory for her and I was happy about it.

'I miss Lily so much. I wish I could hold her one last time. I miss my angel.' She walked out of the kitchen.

Lily was a sweet soul. Always carrying Emily along no matter what.

She told the best stories and made everyone laugh. She was the kind to lift your mood no matter how down you felt. She was my best friend whose house I spent most of my free time in.

When Lily got her trampoline, she invited me over the next day and we just could not get enough of it.

We played till forever. My mum did not stop telling me the story till I was about twelve. Apparently I slept over at Lily's and wet her bed.

We were just four but she did not make it a big deal. She told me she knew I was scared because I was away from my mum and if she were me, she'd probably do the same.

'I miss her too.' I walked to the sitting room with a glass of water in my hand.

'Albert says he wants her buried immediately. He'll be here any second. If you feel uncomfortable at any time, you can go to Lily's room.' She was still looking at the picture.

'Okay.' I said. I needed to clear my head.

George had told me not to call but I really wanted to explain how things were. I wanted to make him understand that my brother was the black sheep of the family and his behavior had nothing to do with the rest of us.

After drinking the water, I dropped the cup on the dining table at the corner of the sitting room and I went to the back of the house.

The garden looked taken care of. All the flowers were arranged according to color. It seemed like what Emily could do.

I saw some pots of lilies at the corner. They looked beautiful. There were different colors but the purple ones stood out to me.

I loved purple so much. When I was little, green was my favorite color but the moment I saw Lily's purple lunch box in grade five, I automatically switched.

The house was swarming with memories of Lily. Every corner I turned to, there was something to keep her memory alive in me. I knew it was not healthy especially for Emily who was going to spend most of her time there.