The heavy rain, which had been beating against the high windows of the funeral hall, finally began to slowly subside. The humid air carried the heavy scent of a flood of flowers that richly covered the place where the creamy white, silver-decorated coffin stood…
Tabitha Hariss huddled anxiously in a massive, burgundy velvet-upholstered chair in the front row, where the closest survivors usually sit. She looked around her carefully with a hazy gaze. The other seats next to her were empty except for one, where Aunt Ruth, her mother's older half-sister, sat, her head bowed and her face buried in a soaked plaid handkerchief. Tabby felt a bitter, astringent taste in her mouth and throat, and she almost didn't notice the tears, leaving glittering marks on her face and falling drop by drop into her lap, but mainly the mournful words of the mourner, which carried through the space. However, they were just words that could not drive away the deep sadness, spreading through her insides like huge bat wings. She stopped digging her nails painfully into her palms, carefully closed her forget-me-not blue eyes, and a desperate wish flashed through her mind to go back in time for at least a few weeks, or to escape from everything, perhaps to the other side of the infinite universe. But of course none of that was possible, so she tried to ignore, at least for a moment, the mercilessly tearing atmosphere, full of compassionate glances and the quiet tones of the song "If you leave my world", which her mother adored so much...
She imagined her again, how she was carefully watering the richly blooming geraniums on the terrace of their house in Bedford that last afternoon and saying to her with a smile...
"You see, Tabby, it seemed so unreal to you and you're almost through your first year of medical school. It's a shame that Grandma didn't get to see it, she so longed for a doctor in the family to take care of her, and if not me, then at least her granddaughter. Of course, your father doesn't count."
"But Mom, don't start with that again, I'm just starting out, I haven't really held a scalpel or a stethoscope in my hand yet, and despite my previous studies, anatomy is still a big bag of words that are hard to understand for me! Even though I should theoretically know a lot of them, it feels like I'm hearing them for the first time. And you certainly know what they're saying!"
"Hmm, so what?" Mom asked, seemingly incomprehensible, waiting for her daughter to say something wise again.
"Well, treating your own family is the greatest madness in the world!" Tabby laughed mischievously and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"What they say may not always be entirely true. And don't think you can avoid it. I'm still here!" Her mother replied, no less amused. Tabby looked at her thoughtfully then. She couldn't imagine what she would have done without her. All this time, her mother had been taking care of her all by herself, patiently enduring her often overly irritable nature and showering her with boundless love, which she tried to at least somewhat replace the missing father, who lived somewhere in Ireland, whom Tabby had last seen when she was five years old and who showed no interest in her. Her mother was also supposed to be a doctor, but she didn't finish her studies. For the last six years, she had worked in a prestigious real estate agency and was quite successful, thanks to which she could afford to pay for her daughter's expensive studies at the medical university in London. Tabby slowly approached her and patted her on the shoulder.
"I love you so much, Mom. I know that if it weren't for your generous support and persuasion, I would just be a nurse giving injections and writing out cards."
"That's right, and realize what an advantage you have over many students thanks to your practice."
"I guess you're right, as always. So I'm thinking, how about I bring some chocolate chip cookies and make some really good tea?"
"Okay, but better now, I still have two clients today with whom I have to write preliminary real estate purchase contracts. Let's sit for a while and then I'll go, hm?"
Tabby nodded happily and when she waved to Mom after class, she had no idea that it would be the last time…
That evening, she rubbed her eyes wearily and finally closed the textbooks in the drawer. That's enough for today...she said to herself, licking her lips at the thought of a great thick sandwich with ham, cheese and a pile of vegetables and drinking her Coke with gusto. She hadn't even finished the glass when her cell phone rang on the table. She sang her favorite tune to it for a while and then danced her way to the table. She focused on the display and shook her head in amazement. Ruth? And now tonight? Auntie worked as a head nurse in traumatology at the local hospital. But what could she possibly want?
"Yes, Auntie? What's going on?" She asked cheerfully. But what she heard next wiped the last remnants of a smile from her face.
"Darling, come to the hospital as soon as possible. Your mom was in a serious car accident and she's in serious condition! And most importantly, please drive carefully...at least you..."
Tabitha couldn't catch her breath for a moment, she felt like her heart had just stopped and she closed her eyes for a moment.
"Tabby, are you still there?" Her aunt asked her quietly.
"And...yes...auntie...I'll be at the hospital in a moment..." she breathed out hoarsely and ended the call.
With shaking hands, she tried to insert the key into the starter, but it took her a long time to do so. The engine roared as she stepped on the gas and she sped off, leaving a huge cloud of dust behind her. But she had no idea that all the rush was now completely useless. From her previous, and in a way carefree, life, only thousands of memories were left, just like from her mother's car, a pitiful pile of crumpled metal sheets. But most of all, her fate had prepared its new and strange path for her…