The echo of the impact reverberates through my bones. I stay completely still, staring at the ceiling as if it might hold the answers. I try to understand the why behind her words, but I rarely do. I don’t see a concerned mother or a woman who wants her children’s happiness. Quite the opposite. I only see resentment, bitterness, vengeance, and the reflection of arrogance that has been feeding off others’ pain for years — including that of her own children.

——🩶🐺🩶——

I feel completely overwhelmed. This isn’t common in Grayville — in seventeen years, this is the first funeral I’ve ever witnessed. And it’s not just anyone being buried. The person lying beneath that dirt is my father. I can’t look. I can’t bear it. And I refuse to stand still while they cover him with earth forever.

Without thinking, I run. I leave behind the murmurs, the pitying glances, and the slow, heavy steps of mourning. I hear voices calling me, trying to stop me, but I can’t stay there. I can’t watch my father di