My Pretty Sweetheart (Arianna)

In the end, we couldn't bring Irvin back.

The funeral was arranged three days later. Shirley locked herself at home and did not attend the funeral while we dealt with Irvin's post- death matters.

After that, I personally sent Daniel home.

The door was not completely shut. I pushed the door open and led the child in. The house was empty with no one in sight.

When the owner was gone, it was not home. It was just a house.

Dust layered the floor. With every step we took, it left a trail. It seemed that the servants had been dismissed for some time.

We found Shirley in the master bedroom. She was still in the wedding dress she had on the other day. Her eyes were blank, staring out the window, holding Irvin's favorite suit close to her body. "Mom..." Daniel's small eyebrows wrinkled together, and his eyes were filled with pain and surprise.

I let go of his hand, and he trotted over to her. He tried to nudge her arm with his little hand. "Mom, what's wrong?"

Shirley had no response at all. It was as if we weren't in the room with her.

and looked at me

the room, raised my voice, and said, "Shirley? Can you hear me? I've brought Daniel to you." Nothing changed; she did not move at

"Who is it?"

thought I

She looked much older than me, and was staring at us in confusion. She felt like a kind person. I figured she was someone easy to get along with. "I am a friend of the owner.

wore jades and pearls. With that, I assumed she was not any ordinary person; perhaps she was one of

Shirley had

did not have a wedding either. Without credentials,

eyes were clear. Her presence and the way she carried herself indicated that she was a capable woman. She introduced herself before I could

"Im Janet, Shirley's mother."

Shirley. She lifted her arm and tried to pull her up, but because she was feeble,

to help. It took

softly and focused on dressing her

mess, but probably felt a bit of tenderness and warmth in the presence of her mother. She must have missed the feeling of being pampered

to disturb