I think this is totally unexpected, but a new update is here! Happy Easter everyone! :jig:

Chapter 22

A loud buzz suddenly interrupted the peace of the night. The cell phone vibrated its way towards the edge of the end table, menacing to fall off at any second.



‘Who the heck is calling at this hour?!?’ Shadee grumbled, still unsure whether she was sleeping or awake.



Stretching a hand, she groped around the table, trying to find the source of noise. Sebastien grunted next to her, then turned on the other side.



‘Yeah?’ Shadee tried to stifle a yawn while listening to the voice at the other end of the line ‘Grandma, are you okay? … Take it easy and just- … Is everyone okay?... Just try to calm down and tell me what happened!’



With a soft thud the cell phone slid out of the girl’s hand, landing on the wooden floor.




‘We have all gathered here today for the sad purpose of laying to rest the mortal remains of Menas Evans. As we meet here our hearts are full of grief. Our eyes burn with the salt of bitter tears. We are thus afflicted because…’



The words of the priest seemed to die away as Shadee’s eyes blurred with tears. She knew perfectly well this had been coming, she had thought of it and dreaded it, but in no case had she really been prepared to deal with the death of another person dear to her.



Her grandfather had been like a second parent to her. She had got used to seeing him every day – as of late only during the holidays. She hadn’t even said a proper goodbye to him and she was now no longer able to do it – he was gone, probably in Heaven to meet with his son and grandchildren – Shadee’s family.



By far, the most affected of them all was Gypsy. She just stared at the closed shiny, black coffin without blinking.



Her eyes were red and swollen, but tears refused to flow. She had probably cried every drop of water left in her body. Her withered hand pressed Caleb’s small body to hers, as if he was everything she had left. She suddenly looked old, as if twenty years had passed in only one week.

With slow, almost lazy movements, the casket was lowered inside the grave. Caleb detached himself from his adoptive mother and, shaking slightly, approached the opening in the ground with a beautiful bunch of flowers in his hand. It was a heart-breaking sight.



The poor ten-year-old boy hadn’t had any luck throughout his life: first being put up for adoption, making good friends and loosing them, then the person he had known as a father for the past six years dieing.

Caleb’s whole body began to shake as he hid his face in Gypsy’s belly, letting his emotions loose.



Two men with shovels started to cover the casket with dirt, hiding its image forever in the depths of the ground. Everyone taking part in the gathering stared at the coffin; it was the last goodbye to a wonderful person, husband, father and grandfather.