Sentimental Chances (On-Going)

Chapter 7 : Why Take Him Away?

That's right, Topher died in the train wreck on the day of our wedding.

Nothing could ever prepare anyone for that feeling of loss. I remember losing my father, and I had to go through it all again after losing my fiance.

My heart felt like a thousand men kept stomping it, and I could not stop crying. But no matter what pain I'm feeling, I know it was a lot worse for the people around us.

I lost the love of my life, Ada lost her favorite person, our friends lost a friend, and of course, Ariel and Thomas lost their only son. I remember how his parents were called to identify his body. That must've hurt far worse than being in the train wreck to see your child's lifeless body in the morgue, and what was more painful was that they confirmed that it was his body.

Seeing his parents having to bury their child was hard.

Before the day of the funeral, I remember the feeling of how the world felt very gloomy to live in and asked the heavens why they had to take Topher away from us. What did we do to deserve this suffering?

I could not accept that he was gone. I could never accept that he was gone in my life. All I felt was how my heart was aching so hard.

There were pictures of us everywhere, like on the walls, on the side table, on my phone, laptop, and camera. We captured every special moment together, and just looking at them made me cry even more. I felt that there was no meaning in my life without Topher here with me.

My Mom stayed with me in the house for a few days to take care of me and also called my brother about what happened, but they could not come because Ada was still having a fever. I'm kinda glad that she was too young enough to understand the loss of a loved one, especially when it was Topher.

The time of the funeral came, and we all wore white. I remember thinking that it was funny how I was wearing white on our wedding day, and there I was wearing white to say goodbye to him.

Before the service began, I glanced at the open white casket, and I wished for him to open his eyes and that everything was back to normal. Ariel stood beside me with a sad smile on her face.

"His face seems to be illuminating," she remarked to me even though I had no idea what that meant until she told me a second later. "He must be at peace now."

I believed that. After that, we both mourned together. "I miss him so much," I cried.

Ariel wrapped me in her arms as tears poured out of her eyes. "Me too, Honey. Me too."

Everyone was there to bid their final farewell to Topher. Emmy, our other friends, my colleagues at work, and Topher's professors.

Even my grandparents came since they knew him longer than I did. They could not believe he died because, to them, it was like they lost a grandson. I remember how inconsolable my grandmother was.

Looking back, I was glad that my mother was there. She was my rock for both of us, though she was also just as sad and tearing up during the service.

Topher was buried in the private cemetery outside of town. To be honest, I didn't want to be there, but at the same time, I wanted to. I needed to be with him until the end.

I was not ready to let go of him when I watched his casket elevate down six feet under the ground.

One by one, we had to toss a white rose in there before he was buried. What is it about death? Why do we have to go through this suffering to see someone gone?

However, the worst part began after the funeral. Seeing him for the last time was one thing, but moving on from his death was another.

Whenever the house felt empty, it was because he was traveling somewhere. Now, it's just empty. I know that was how Ariel felt in her little cottage.