My Pretty Sweetheart (Arianna)

"Why are you crying, Mom?" Anne asked. Her voice was soft. I knelt down and hugged her. I was feeling uncomfortable. "Anne, I'll take you to see this aunt tomorrow, okay?" I hadn't been here for four years. I wondered if she was well.

Looking at Monique in the photo, Anne nodded. She raised her hand to wipe my tears. "Okay!"

I held her in my arms as I tried to calm down. "This aunt is the most important person to me and also to you. Can you promise me to not call her aunt, but Mom in the future?"

She was confused. "Why? Bennett said that there could only be one father and mother. If I call someone else Mom, then what do I call you?"

"Anne, each of us are different, and you are different from Bennett. You are a girl and he is a boy. He only has one mother, but you have two mothers. This aunt is the most important person to me. Her name is Monique. You must remember it, okay?" I said.

I couldn't tell her that I wasn't her real mother, but I didn't want her to have no memory of Monique.

turned four. But after she turned four, she could remember everything

little confused. But seeing how serious I was, she nodded and said, "Alright, I'll listen to you. I will call this aunt Mama Monique

I nodded.

come for a long time, the cemetery seemed to have

a middle-aged woman was selling flowers. When she saw me with my child, she couldn't help blurting out, "Do you want some chrysanthemums?" sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ (ꜰind)ɴʘvel.nᴇt

shop. I said to the shop owner, "I want to pick one by myself. Is that

was startled but

of sunflowers while holding Anne in my arms. Master Roberts does not know much about flowers but he was calm and composed. So, I decided to pick a bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums. Grandma's favorite was the irises near the Hovell courtyard. She said the flower was tenacious and it's beautiful without being too striking. It would grow with the wind when a few seeds fell on the ground and it was rinsed by

area with long steps. Since it's early autumn, the fog was thick and we had been walking on the steps for

people came to pay their respects to their relatives. After bringing Anne

seemed to have become colder. Some people said that people grow with time, that they would become gentler and kinder. However, for some people, they would become more silent and colder with time; it gave them pain and