Mina slips her heels from her feet. She sat on the couch and massaged her feet. She threw her head back, resting it on the sofa. Naarah sat beside her.
" You can decide not to see the body. I can go there if you want."
Mina smiled;
" I have to. If I don't go, how will I know it's him?"
Naarah shifted herself to make herself comfortable on the sofa. She held her friend's hands.
" You are doing good, Mina. Taking care of everything and everyone. I'm here to help. You know that." Naarah exclaimed.
Mina nodded.
****
The hallway smelled sterile—too clean, too quiet. Fluorescent lights buzzed faintly overhead as she followed the nurse down the narrow corridor, every step echoing like a countdown. Mina hugged herself tightly. She had left Ellie with her babysitter. She couldn't trust anyone now but she had made sure her sitter was a trusted person. A retired woman. Naarah smiled at her friend. She shivered as they approached the room. Was her annoying cousin gone? He was the only family she had left and he was gone. She cleared her throat, trying to push down the lump in her throat.
Mina stared blankly at the door. He was waiting for him. Not the man who always got into her skin. The lifeless one. The nurse keyed in a code. The door clicked. She pushed the door open and the cold air slapped Mina's face.
Inside, mental drawers lined the walls. A quiet hum came from the refrigerators, as if the dead were whispering to them. It was chilling and creepy.
" This way." the nurse said to them.
They were led to a gurney, already pulled out. The body beneath a white sheet. Only the face was visible. There was no colour in it. No warmth. Just stillness.
" Is this your brother?" the nurse asked flatly.
Naarah swallowed the lump in her throat.
" Y…yes," she said.
Mina froze on the spot. Her emotions rushed towards her but she had to conceal them. He looked…. he looked different. She couldn't see the stubbornness she had to face these couple of years on his face. He looked white. She nibbled on her lips. She hugged herself tightly.
Why did he go to avenge her? He could have let it be. She had a plan to bring Amanda down. Why? How was she going to raise Ellie? She didn't want to do this alone. Was it too late to say she had missed him?
" M..Mina," Naarah exclaimed.
Mina looked at her. Her eyes were red from the tears she was trying to push aside.
" We need, we need to prepare for the funeral," Naarah said.
Mina stared at her. She was dumbfounded. They got out from the room. Mina sinker herself on the bench nearby. Her fingers slipped into her hair. The tears she had tried to bury finally rushed out.