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.

puzzled and looked at me

walked into 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 all. She was like a statue that had completely fused with the

"Who is it?"

behind me. I thought I was hallucinating, but

door. She looked much older than me, and was staring at us in confusion. She felt like a kind person. I figured she was

that, I assumed she was not any ordinary person; perhaps she

had

either. Without credentials, the Ministry of Public Security would naturally contact the

and the way she carried herself indicated that she was a capable woman. She introduced herself before

"Im Janet, Shirley's mother."

she spoke, she walked towards Shirley. She lifted her arm and tried to pull her up, but because she was feeble, she had a very hard time

to help. It took me a lot of effort to move Shirley to

you." Janet thanked me softly and focused on

tenderness and warmth in the presence of

didn't want to disturb