Sophia stood silently before her mother's gravestone, clutching a bouquet of white lilies in trembling hands. The January breeze swept through the cemetery, cold and sharp, but she barely felt it. Her eyes were fixed on the engraved words:
Phillip Edwards
Beloved husband and father
1963–2022
Rosinda Edwards
Devoted mother
1966–2025
The flowers trembled in her grasp as she knelt and gently laid them at the base of the gravestone. Tears blurred her vision, but she wiped them away quickly, not wanting to cry again. It had been a week since her mother's passing, but the ache in her chest hadn't dulled.
Chris stood beside her, hands tucked into his coat pockets, his expression a mixture of sorrow and quiet resolve. He had been a constant presence since her mother's death, stepping in with a quiet strength she didn't know she needed.