At the Harris's, a small funeral was held. Only close ones were present.
Leah knelt by the coffin, her hands clutching a weathered photograph.
It was that of her mother.
Isabelle, smiling in a sunlit field, had her arms around a much younger Leah. That moment, which was so full of love, felt like a lifetime ago.
Tears rolled down Leah’s cheeks as she stared at the photo.
Roland sat beside her silently, his hand over hers.
“She was everything to me,” Leah whispered. “I looked for her everywhere. Every day. I… I thought if I could just find her again, I’d be whole. I even betrayed my friend because of it.”
“You loved her,” Roland said softly. “That’s never something to apologize for.”
Leah shook her head. “But it wasn’t even her anymore. Diane made her into something else.”
Roland n
