Cold rain droplets fell, filling the air with a sickly, sweet, earthy scent. 17-year-old Su Weilin stood before two marbled gravestones. Her knee-length mourning dress clung to her slender frame, damp from the rain.
The black florals contrasted with her pale skin, giving her soft, delicate features a calm yet gloomy aura. She had her spine straight, her dull, amber eyes staring deep into a blank distance.
Except that void, nothing else seemed to pique her interest that much. Not the continuous drizzling, not the bone - chilling cold seeping through her wet clothes. And most importantly, not the rows of relatives murmuring nearby.
Su Weilin blinked, her long, thick lashes catching small rain droplets. She dragged a finger around the shell of her ear, a small sigh escaping her lips . If only they could tone out their voices completely, she would appreciate it much.
"Such terrible luck!!"
A male relative grumbled, patting off rain droplets from his coat. He straightened up, his middle-aged features wrinkling with displeasure. Glancing at Su Weilin still standing in the rain like a statue made his expression even more irritable. "It is bad enough that they died, they just had to dump their mess on us as well."
"No inheritance, no child support. Are they expecting us to raise their daughter on goodwill?!" He spoke, feeling agitated .
"Speaking of which - who's going to volunteer for the kid? Sure the will stipulated no one, but we're mandated by law to watch over her till she reaches the legal age." Another relative chimed in.
Everyone drew back, each waving their hands in pure disagreement. Then the excuses came flooding in one after the other.
" No, I can't. My financial flow lately has been tight. It would be improper to bring the child and still let her starve." An uncle chuckled, his excuse sounding perfectly relevant.
"Neither can I. My daughter just got into college last month. There's just too much expenses"
"Definitely not me. My son's wedding is coming up soon. Such a festive season, it would be terrible to ruin such an auspicious occasion. Besides the in-laws are very picky."
Su Weilin felt the urge to roll her eyes. Such a dependable family.... Just one question and they all back away like a pack of frightened dogs.
Just then, a relative clapped in excitement. "Hey, isn't Su Lin, fourth brother's favorite? Surely she would agree to be Su Weilin's guardian, saves us from all the hassling"
"Yes, yes. Fourth brother always treated Su Lin best; it only makes sense for her to be the child's guardian." Everyone nodded, quietly applauding the idea.
After all, it didn't matter who she went to. As long as she wasn't theirs to worry about, everything would be perfect. It was practically a done deal, but a shrill voice interrupted them.
"Hell, no!!"
A lady in her mid-forties appeared, flipping her big curls while revealing her expensive, manicured fingers. "I'm always busy, and i'm barely ever in town. Besides, being fourth brother's favorite didn't mean that I had it easy." Ecstatic, she pointed at her elaborately made-up face. "Look, look at how stiff my smiles are from having to suck up to them for so long. Do you think that I would like a do over of that ordeal?"
"I say we dump her here! Leave her to her parents. It's just her luck, if she'd just died with them - we wouldn't have been in this peril."
Silence fell, followed by hushed whispers and feet shuffling on wet grass. Su Weilin stood there, her eyes catching the orange-red rays of the setting sun. She blinked, her blank mind snapping back to reality.
Unaware of how long she'd been standing, she made a move to walk. But her knees buckled and her feet gave way. Unsteady, she fell on her butt, scraping her knees against a sharp corner of the gravestones.
Sucking in a sharp breath, Su Weilin held her bloodied knee. Hot tears made her eyes sting, but she wiped them before they ever fell. She sat there in silence, the constant chirping of crickets filling her ears. Then she let out a soft, depreciating laugh. Seemed like her 'family' had reached a unilateral decision, they had abandoned their niece all alone in a cemetery.
She glanced at the gravestones before her, her gaze fixated on the two familiar faces smiling warmly at her. Those smiles she'd seen all her life, those smiles she would never get to see again. She remained, wanting to burn every of those faces into her memory.
Parting her lips, she spoke. Her usually soft voice now hoarse from the cold, "Mom, Dad. Was this family really worth it?"
She picked up an umbrella she'd been saving, placing it right next to her parents' graves. Staring at the bare graves, she frowned. "If they were going to attend the funeral, they could have done much as bring flowers."
Ignoring the burning pain in her left knee, she stood up. Her usually pink, plum lips now pale and cracked as she spoke. " I'll go get you some flowers, you both don't look good this way. Hydrangeas were always your favorite."
She turned, following a narrow trail as she walked unsteadily in the dark. Finally, she reached a brightly lit flower van parked at the cemetery's side gate. Peeking in, she found the florist arranging a new batch of lilies, humming a loud, folk tune.
Su Weilin paused for a bit, then knocked three times. Each knock a slow, haunting rhythm. The florist, a man in his fifties froze mid-song, his hands which had been holding a pair of scissors trembled, causing the scissors to clatter to the floor.