Chapter One.

Lina has had a busy week at the NGO. Although, days are usually very hectic.

As a lawyer and an activist who works in Istanbul, Turkey and other parts of the middle east, to fight for girls who were assaulted and defend ladies who are being forced into early loveless marriages, she was always swamped.

She found solace in her work and most importantly, it gave her the distraction she needed.

She hasn't been home, in South Dakota, in seven years but she didn't care. America was the reason she needed the distraction anyway.

Her familiy, especially her mother tries to contact her regularly but she only calls back once or twice a month to inform her mother that she was okay. And she ensures to send monetary assistance to support her family every single week, despite knowing fully well that they are well to do and may not need it.

Her mother was on her bankroll and other than giving money to her family, she hasn't been home to support them with her presence in any way. 

She left work one evening and decided to grab a bite from a fast food around for dinner, as she was too tired to make any meal.

She had to wait at the drive-through for a couple of minutes to place an order, because there was a long queue.

As she waited, she stared at her phone that keep ringing endlessly. 

Again she picked it up from her gearbox and saw it was still her mother calling.

Gosh, she didn't want to talk to her mother, Lina blew raspberry and was going to set her phone down at first, but changed her mind.

She answered and didn't wait for her mother to speak before blurting.

'I'm driving, mom. I'd call you when I get home.'

'Your grandmother passed, Lina.' Her mother, Natalie uttered.

'What?!' Lina exclaimed.

'Mom, what are you talking about?' She asked to be sure she heard her mother correctly. 

'I figured to give you a real reason to call back like you said, since you miraculously answered the phone today. Your nana died last night, Lina.' Natalie said and Lina gasped roughly. 

'I need to talk to you. Call me when you get home.' Natalie said and hanged up.

Lina sobbed helplessly and grasped the wheel so tightly, she almost ripped the leather. 

She drove out of the waiting line and headed straight to her apartment.

She crashed to the floor after she locked herself in and wept bitterly. 

Lina lamented her grandmother isn't supposed to die yet.

'She's not even so old, how could this happen now?' She kept bawling, as she her mind drifted back to how she practically lived with her grandmother until she was a teen.

She always spent summer at her grandmother's, that her grandmother neighbours took Lina for the now deceased's daughter. 

'I haven't even seen her in seven years.' Lina went on crying.

'And neither did I get a chance to say, goodbye.' She wept for hours, before finally calling her mother back.

When Natalie heard her voice, she knew Lina had been crying. 

Natalie knew it was crazy to say, but she did anyways.

'I'm sorry for our loss, baby.' 

'She's not supposed to die yet, mom.' Lina's voice cracked. 

'That's the grief talking, baby.' Natalie said from the other side. 

'Mom, I love her so much.' Lina sobbed.

'I know, Lina. We all loved her,' Natalie said and Lina cringed at the word "loved" in her mother's statement.

'but we kept calling you for weeks and you weren't answering or returning our calls. You don't even check your messages, we sent you emails too as a matter of fact but you didn't respond to any.' Natalie went on, but Lina couldn't find her voice to speak.

'We're all at Benton city, at your nana's place. Your siblings are here too, so is your father.' Natalie added, and Lina fluttered in mortification at the mention of her father.

'I'd be at nana's place by morning. I wouldn't miss out on my chance to say my final goodbye.' Lina said.

'We will discuss her funeral arrangements by evening, tomorrow.' Natalie informed Lina, a bit worried she may miss it.

'Why are you in a haste to send her away?' Lina blurted. 

'It's what the family has decided.' Natalie replied. 

'The family? Without my opinion? Am I no longer a member of this family?' Lina protested. 

'Well, you weren't here.' Natalie said. 

'But she is my grandmother.' Lina fired.

'And she is my mother, Lina.' Natalie spat.

'My siblings and I already decided. I hope you make it to the funeral.' She added.

'I'd be there, but I'm leaving immediately after the funeral.' Lina said and she got up.

'Come on, Lina. Arnold, that you have been trying to avoid all these years no longer reside in the countryside. He stays in New Jersey now with his family.' Natalie protested.

'I'd be in South Dakota tomorrow, mom.' Lina said and hanged up, before her mother said anything else.

She wondered how her mother could be so clueless to think that Arnold wasn't the person she was trying to avoid.

When it was her father.

A thirteen hours flight to Bentonville wasn't one of adventure on Lina's yearly bucket list, but her nana passed and she needed to go. 

When she landed, it was almost noon.

Neither did she call nor text anyone that she arrived, instead she booked an uber straight to an hotel and checked in.

She had her bath and wore in a gloomy dress, that she felt was most appropriate from the visit. 

Then, she left for her grandmother's place in an uber, yet again.

When the car arrived at her grandmother's house, she put on her sunglasses and alighted. 

She had barely gotten to the pavement when she heard someone call her name. 

'Great.' Lina muttered sarcastically. 

'Just what I was trying to avoid.' She said in her head and turned to respond, but was supposed to see who her caller was.

'Christopher!!' Lina called out her caller's name.

She took a few steps closer and the man wrapped his arms around her.

She reciprocated the hug and drew in the musky smell of his manly cologne. 

'Good to have you back, sis.' Christopher muttered. 

'It's so good to see, Chris.' Lina disengaged the hug but was still very much wrapped in her little brother's arms.

'I can't believe it took nana's death to bring you back all the way from the middle east.' Christopher said.

'Let's not do this now, please.' Lina countered 

'Okay, Lina. If you insist.' Christopher gave in.

'Let's head in.' He added and they walked in with their arms wrapped around each other's waist. 

Christopher held the door for her to walk in, before he entered the house himself. 

'You've become such a gentleman.' Lina teased him.

'Well, if you were here for my wedding, you'd have known that.' Christopher blurted. 

'Chris!!' Lina said his name tilting her head to the side, amused that he was still bringing that up.

She apologized years back and even sent him an apology/wedding present, which he claimed to have loved so much.

'Okay, Lina. No more talking about the past.' Christopher muttered. 

'What's with the sunglasses, though. You're in the house already.' He said, reaching for the glasses. 

Then pulled it off her face before she could stop him, and revealing her swollen red eyes. 

'Oh my goodness, Lina. Have you been crying?' Christopher expressed shock and Lina reached back for her sunglasses. 

She took it from him and puts it back on.

'Can we not talk about this either?' Lina said as she moved her head to look around. 

Everything was still at the same spot as it was since she was a child.

As she caught a glimpse of her grandmother's photograph hanging on the wall, a fresh wind of bitterness clutched her.

Then, she swallowed a lump and cleared her throat. 

'Where's everybody?' She asked.

'In nana's garden.' Christopher replied and led her to the backyard like she didn't know her way around the place.

When he opened the back door, the first person she saw was her little sister, Catherine laying out napkins on a round table. 

'Gosh, she's so grown now.' Lina thought.

Christopher help her climb down the porch steps and walked her to the family gathering. 

'Oh my goodness, Lina. Is that you?' Natalie shrieked after seeing her daughter for the first time in almost a decade. 

'It is I, mom.' Lina said and Natalie embraced her so affectionately. 

Her uncle and aunt hugged her too, and told her they didn't believe she was going to make it to the funeral. 

It seemed everyone was excited to have her back around except her little sister, Catherine who just muttered "hi" from a distance.

But Lina didn't take offence, she understands what her sister how her sister was feeling. She was also grieving herself.

So instead of being idle, she grabbed a few napkins, so she could help around, but her mother stopped her.

'You just got here.' Natalie said. 

'You need to rest.' She added. 

'No, mom. I'm fine.' Lina protested. 

'No, baby. You can help out later tonight or tomorrow, but you need to take some rest now.' Natalie countered. 

'Okay, mom.' Lina gave in.

'Cat, would you please show your sister to her room?' Natalie asked her youngest daughter and she watched Catherine scoffed. 

'Let Christopher do it. I'm quite busy out here.' Catherine grumbled.

'Cat!?' Natalie snapped at her daughter's behaviour.

'Let it go, mom.' Lina said. 

'I can go by myself. Beside, I am not new here.' She added.

'Are you sure, honey.' Natalie asked in concern.

'Of course, mom.' Lina replied and turned to leave.

'I'd bring you some food, Lina.' Natalie said as Lina walked into the house.

'Thanks ma.' Lina replied before disappearing back into the house.

'I guess reunion was okay.' She muttered to herself and she walked back to her old room in her grandmother's house. 

She settled in and had some food after a short while.

Then, she decided to send an email to the director of the NGO she works with, that she may be unavailable for a week as she is out of town attending her grandmother's funeral. 

A couple of hours later, Christopher came to inform her that the discussion about the funeral arrangement is about to start.

She went with him to the backyard where everyone was gathered and took a seat beside her mom.

The discussion went on and on, with every other member of the family giving an opinion about how the funeral should hold, but Lina said nothing. 

Nothing caught her interest until her aunt, Nancy mentioned something about buying a space at a church graveyard for the funeral. 

'Why don't we send her body to the crematorium?' Lina uttered and everyone gasped in awe.

'Yes, let's have her cremated.' She added.

'Why do you prefer a cremation, Lina?' Her uncle, Nate asked.

'Because, I want to take her remains with me back to the middle east.' Lina replied. 

'What?!' Nancy exclaimed.

'What makes you think we will hand over our mother's remains to you?' Nate spat.

'Because, I am the only one here who missed out on nana's life the most. I wasn't even here when she passed, so it would be fair to let me have her.' Lina said.

'I just want her to always be with me and I know nana wouldn't mind.' She added. 

'Coming from someone who wasn't even here when she died.' Catherine blurted.

'If ever we are going to have nana cremated, then she stays here, in Bentonville. With her family 

who truly cared for her.' She added.

'Stop it, Cat.' Natalie said. 

'I should stop?' Catherine spat.

'But you didn't stop Lina, did you?' She added.

'No one is sending my mother to a crematorium. She would be buried in the church graveyard like Nancy said and that is final.' Natalie blurted and stormed out of the gathering.

Catherine shot Lina a glare and followed suit.