Caitlyn: Speaking of 'love-interests' - Any hot guys there?
Sophia: Hot? Or Hot??
Caitlyn: Hot??
Sophia: Oops. Speaking of Hot?? guys, I'll give you an update tonight. Speak soon.
Caitlyn: I want every detail.
It sounds as if she does not remember. It sounds as if Sophia does not know that this week it will be one year since Shayne left. Although, it sounds as if she has forgotten, I know she has not. She is dealing with her emotions differently than I am. It is just that darkness found my weary soul. It was an easy find.
A couple of months later, as Hannah was walking home despondently, her feet dragging on the ground and automatically taking one step after another, she looked up at the white blotches of clouds up in the sky and she realised they no longer looked like a horse or a flower or a bear, now they were just what they were-clouds.
She still missed her dad's voice and his laughter with every passing day. People were wrong because time did not heal the wounds of loss, and even if it became no longer painful, the wound grew larger and wider. There was a big gaping, fathomless pit of loss, despair and emptiness in her heart. She felt like a shadow of the person she used to be, no longer interested in activities after school, or visiting her friends, or listening to music. Her smiles were few and far between, she could not recall the sound of her own laughter.
She was plodding along and her satchel was hanging heavy from her shoulder because she had two tests to study for and her bag was full of books.
She was replaying her mum's hateful words in her head. Her mum had said earlier that morning, "He is happier where he is now and he doesn't have to worry about money. Not like us."
Hannah told her it was a horrible thing to say, but her mum just walked away laughing.
When Hannah reached the trailer, she saw suitcases spread open on the floor in the living area. Her mum was rushing around folding clothes and dropping them into the cases.
"Why are you packing?" Hannah asked as she looked at her mum confused.
"We're leaving." She smiled at Hannah. She pointed to a small suitcase laying to the side. "That one is yours. I am sorry that is all you can take, but we won't have room in the car for a lot of things, so go to your room and pick your most important things and pack them."
Hannah stood staring at her as if in a dream. She asked softly, "Leaving? Where are we going?"