The days that fellowed felt slow and heavy.
Lena moved through them quietly, as if the world
Had been turned down and everything around her was muted. The house no longer felts as suffocating as before- but it still didn't feel whole.
Nothing did
Maria stayed.
She didn't asks too many questions. She didn't try to fix anything. She just sat with Lena- in silence in grief, in everything that hurt.
And somehow, that helped.
One evening, Lena found herself standing by the window, watching the sunset. The sky was so soft painted in shades of orange and fading gold.
It remained her and her father.
He used to love sunsets.
"Every ending has it own kind of beauty," he once told her.
At the time, she hadn't understood.
Now….She was trying
"I miss him." Lena said quietly.
Maria stepped beside her. "I know."
There was a pause.
"But I think," Lena continued, her Vince trembling slightly, "he would not want me to stay like this."
Maria didn't respond right away.
Instead, she gave her a small nod. "He wouldn't."
Lena took a deep breath.
It felt different this time.
Still painful.
But possible.
For the first time since his death, she opened the window.
The cool air rushed in, brushing against her face, gentle and alive.
Lena closed his eyes.And slowly…. She breathed.
Maybe the pain wouldn't disappear.
Maybe the pieces would never fully fit the same way again.
But maybe….
Just maybe…
She could learn how to live with them.
End of chapter three