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It drew significant media attention.
At our joint funeral, many came. Reporters, police officers, doctors, friends, family, and countless strangers.
The little girl and her mother knelt before Nora's portrait at the memorial.
The little girl asked her mother,
"Mommy, will Nora be watching over us from heaven?"
Her mother gently stroked her hair.
"Yes, sweetheart. Nora will watch over our Lily, keeping her safe always. And we wish Nora happiness in heaven, hoping it's kinder than this life was for her."
Mrs. Rhodes, seated in her wheelchair, wept inconsolably. Nurses from the hospital stood nearby,
Each holding white chrysanthemums – Nora's favorite flower.
The flower offered to those we cherish most in farewell.
I always found Nora's preference morbid. While others loved tulips or roses, she adored the humble chrysanthemum.
I once asked her why. She said in her line of work, death was a constant companion.
Many saw the flower as an omen.
But she loved it deeply.
Because to her, it symbolized remembrance and the purest blessing for the departed.
Outside the funeral, a prison transport vehicle waited in the distance.
David stood quietly beneath the shade of a tree, watching the funeral awash in flowers.
He watched for a long time before finally turning away.
An officer he knew, escorting him, couldn't help but ask,
"Why not go in? See her one last time?"
David simply smiled. "She wouldn't want me there. I won't risk her hating me even in death."
On the day of our burial, I felt my presence fading.
But I lingered, waiting for someone.
I waited and waited, but the person I longed to see never came...
Until the following night, my husband stumbled into the cemetery. He wore a hospital gown.
Sweat and dirt streaked his face.
Only when he saw my photo etched on the headstone
Did he stop, a bitter laugh escaping him. "Sorry, Anna... I... got the days mixed up."
"God, what an idiot I am. You probably hate me even more now..."
He hadn't refused to come. He'd simply forgotten the date of my burial.
Suddenly, the weight lifted. A final, ghostly smile touched my lips.
"I forgive you, Michael. Next life... let's not meet again."
"Because truly... it was too much."
Nora's voice called from behind me.
"Anna. Time to go."
I turned resolutely towards the light, answering firmly: "Coming!"
[The End]
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