"Mom." Izabella looked at the smiling woman in the photo, sniffled, and said with a thick nasal voice, "I really wanna see you, I thought I'd see you when I died, but I didn't expect to live another life. Why did I come back, but you guys didn't?"
Why was she the only one who came back?
Did they not even want her when she died?
Izabella wiped the photo on the tombstone. The woman in the photo had a gentle smile, as beautiful as a painting.
She hugged the tombstone, curled up, her head leaning on the photo, like a child snuggling and seeking warmth in her mother's arms.
"Mom, I wish you could hug me." When Izabella opened her mouth, her throat felt stuck with a blade, pulling at the wound and tearing in pain.
Izabella's nose turned red, and she bit her lip, crying helplessly.
She missed her mom so much, wanting her embrace, kiss, lullabies, and hearing these words when she was most desperate and helpless.
"Don't be afraid. Mom is here."
Izabella cried silently, her eyes sore and dry, tears dried up deep in her eyes, and her eyes red like they were about to bleed.
"Dad, Mom, I won't let anyone bully me anymore. I won't repeat my mistakes. I can protect myself and won't destroy my pride and dignity."
As she spoke, Izabella choked back a sob, her mouth bitter. She lowered her hand, turned to another tombstone, deeply bowed, and hit her forehead on the cement ground, leaving a red mark.
"Dad, please protect Mom well down there."
The weather in R City was strange, sunny and rainy at the same time. The sun shone through the clouds, making them golden, but even the most considerable sun couldn't warm this cold place.
The cemetery was quiet, except for the sound of raindrops and birdsong. Izabella looked up, and the initially cold rain became gentle, not irritating when it fell into her eyes.
Izabella sat by the tombstone in the drizzle for a full hour, soaking wet. Her body was cold and weak, just like her previous life. She staggered to her feet and swayed in the wind.
Izabella returned to the store to get an umbrella, and the owner saw her soaked and worriedly said, "I thought you forgot to take the umbrella and left? Look at you, all wet. Wipe yourself with a towel."
"Thank you, but I don't need it." She touched her wet clothes, soaked through. It would be better not to wear them.
Luckily, Casey had bought her several changes of clothes.
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