The Calm After the Storm

I felt like laughing, but I cried instead.

"Matthias.

"Nobody's going to take Mom's things.

"If you want to give Anna something, that's fine. Give her whatever you want from what the Lawsons have."

"What good stuff does the Lawson family even have?"

Matthias stopped talking suddenly.

Yeah, what good stuff did we have?

We had nothing good, from the people in the family to the things we owned.

I tossed the torn paper into the trash and headed upstairs.

"Mom's memorial is in a few days. Don't forget."

"How could I?" Matthias gave me an awkward smile.

"Go to bed early. I'll be in the office for a while longer."

I did not answer or look back at him.

I spent the whole night wide awake.

I gathered everything in the house that had to do with us three—Me, Walter, and Matthias.

I burned the pictures.

I broke and took apart anything that could be broken.

I packed up whatever could be given away and sent it to the orphanage.

All that was left in this little house were the memories in every corner.

It was the Lawson family's only little villa from when Mom married into the family.

After Mom passed away, my brother and I just could not bring ourselves to leave.

Dad moved out to live with Anna's mom.

Eventually, my brother stopped coming by as much.

Walter used to come over every day to play when we were younger.

It had been a long time since his last visit.

On the porch, I hugged Mom's picture.

I cried for a long time until I fell asleep with tears on my cheeks.

The day after my birthday was the anniversary of Mom's death.

That year, she hung on just long enough to see my birthday through before she left us.

I had cried so much back then.

Walter had been there for me every minute of the day, spending every second by my side.

He helped me get through the next eight years and eight birthdays.

This was the first year he had missed it, but it did not matter anymore.

Walter never showed up.

As for Anna, she just would not go away.

Her posts littered my social media feed all night.

Some nosy people even streamed it to me live.

"There's really no reason to celebrate," one of them said. "Tonight, let's just celebrate the anniversary of you buying your tablet!"

"We just wanted an excuse to eat cake," they joked.

There was a fancy, expensive two-layer cake and a tower of champagne.

There were many bags, beautiful clothes, and a little princess with a crown.

Anna was all smiles, gazing lovingly at the man next to her.

Walter was smiling gently back at her. They looked perfect together.

I logged off Messenger and set my phone down on the table.

I closed my eyes and whispered a wish to the flickering candlelight.

"Mom, please make everything go smoothly for me.

"Mom, please keep me far away from those terrible people."