S31 56. Last Sentence from Rowan
“Grandma?” Frank called softly. “Are you okay?”
Diana shook her head slowly. Her index finger was half raised. “Is this… from your grandfather?”
Frank nodded. “Grandpa left this album and letter for you. Do you need my help to read it?”
Diana’s mouth opened without a word. However, her fingers moved
closer to the letter.
With slow movements, Diana opened the envelope. As soon as the contents of the letter were seen, her eyes closed. Her fingers
trembled even more violently.
“Let me help you, Grandma.” Frank knew Diana wouldn’t be able to do
The old woman nodded. Even though her eyelids were closed, her
tears still fell.
“Diana,” Frank began to read the old-fashioned writing, “I knew you wondering why I wrote you this letter. Maybe you’re happy becaus died first. I thought that I would be happy if you died first. But turn out, I was wrong.”
Frank glanced at Diana briefly. The old woman was still trying to
contain her emotions.
“I’m not annoyed at all that you read my will. I’m actually relieved, I can express everything without having to hide from you.”
“Since you left, I feel like there’s something strange in my life. There’s an empty space in my heart. It’s like your curse hit me. No matter what I do, I never feel complete. I don’t know what happiness is.”
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“Little by little, I realized. You’re the one I lost. You left with the colors in my life. You disappeared like the light in my heart. My days have felt cold and dark since we separated. Stupidly, I was too
embarrassed to admit it.”
“I realize that I had wasted you during our marriage. I realize that I was too selfish to think only about my pleasure. Without realizing it, you’re the happiness that I was supposed to protect.”
Diana suddenly took a deep breath. Her mouth opened, releasing the tightness that hit her chest.
Frank gave her a moment. Only after her breathing was under control did he continue-weakly, softly.
“I’m sorry I disappointed you, Diana. I’m sorry I spent the rest of my life without you. If only we were still together, Norman might not have gone so quickly. He was young, his future was bright, but I neglected,
to look after him.”
“I do want to meet you, bend my knees in front of you. But I don’t have enough courage. Because I know, I don’t deserve your forgiveness
forever.”
“I was the stupidest human being who threw away his perfect life pursue dreams he thought were grandiose. I didn’t realize that what needed the most was already within my hand.”
“Now that you know everything, let me rest in peace. It’s okay if you still hate me. It would be too naive if I asked you not to. What I hope is that you remember my last sentence. You are the only woman who has ever reigned in my heart.”
Diana broke into sobs again. Her hands started pounding her chest, trying to beat the tightness. Unfortunately, the feeling that gripped her heart only got worse. She started choking, coughing, while shaking her head in denial of reality.
“Why… why did he write a message like this? He should hate me.
forever. He shouldn’t care about me anymore. But why did he say all that to me? Did he deliberately make me feel guilty? He wanted me to regret it too?”
Frank didn’t know what to answer. He also didn’t know how to
comfort Diana. What he could do was still the same, give a warm hug and rub on her back. But this time, his efforts were in vain. Diana’s sadness was too strong to be contained.
“Mommy, why is Grandma Diana crying?” Emily pointed her finger at a chair on the back porch. She had actually been paying attention since earlier. At first, she tried to ignore it. However, Diana’s grief was too
great to ignore.
“I don’t know, Little Bee.” Kara shook her head faintly. “Maybe, Grandma has read the letter from Grandpa Rowan.”
“Is it sad? Grandma Diana is having difficulty breathing. Her eyes must be very red,” Louis pointed to his eyes with a hand dirty with dirt.
Kara smiled blandly. “Grandma Diana hasn’t seen Grandpa Rowan for a long time. The message from Grandpa must have felt sader.”
“Can we comfort Grandma, Mommy? Poor her. She is crying time.” Emily tilted her head. Her round eyes blinked, waiting for approval.
Kara widened the curve of her lips. “Yes, Little Angel. Don’t forget wash your hands first. And remember, you have to be careful with what you say. Don’t make Grandma Diana even sadder or angrier.”
The twins nodded in unison. “Okay, Mommy!”
A second later, they turned to Susan who was teaching Abigail about plants.
“Grandma, Abi, we have to leave for a moment. We have an important
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mission. After we finish it, we will come back to help you.”
Susan smiled gently. “It’s okay. Take care of your mission first. Thank you for helping me so far.”
“You’re welcome, Grandma.”
A second later, the two toddlers ran towards the tap. After their hands were clean, they rushed over to Diana. Kara watched them from the greenhouse.
“Grandma Diana! Grandma Diana!” The twins were panting from running as fast as they could.
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