When they entered the living room, Lyra stood up and ran to hug her brother. Rodney placed his arms around his little sister while his eyes moistened. The little girl looked broken and yet she had always been happy. It was heart-breaking to see.

There was a coffin on the table in the middle of the room. Aunt Jessica and uncle Markos were seated beside it. There were five other people near them that Rodney did not recognize. Rodrigo and Emilia were seated on a window seat, focused on their phones. How distasteful! Rodney thought. They looked unbothered and disconnected from the whole thing.

“Mummy is gone, Rodi.” Lyra said as she led her brother to the coffin. Rodney looked into it and saw the beautiful serene face of Lilliana. He remembered the first time he had seen her when he felt so attracted, then the time she had tried to seduce him but he resisted. He remembered the time she tried to stop her daughter from talking to her brother. All that didn’t matter to Rodney anymore. He ha