The brunette chuckled softly while she overheard some of her co-workers venting about their tiredness after cleaning up the house after the house party with their relatives and friends for the Christmas celebration.

Meanwhile, Giselle checked the time on her phone and noticed that there was merely a minute left for everyone to clock in before getting tardy. It didn't seem normal for her senior to not be here, since she would inform in a group chat if she was going to be late, but she didn't.

Giselle started wondering what had happened to her senior to cause her absence today. The last message from her was a Christmas greeting that she returned, and she didn't text her again after that.

Most of the time Drew would constantly reply to any message from Giselle, even though they casually chatted during their weekends. They also had talked a lot during their lunch breaks or any other spare time whenever they were taking a minute away from work. Giselle had sensed something had happened since her senior was quiet, and she had sent a few texts to her senior again after that, but there was no reply at all.

Worries were taunting the brunette, she wanted to know about it, but she hesitated since Drew never said anything at the moment. Giselle had to drop it and never wanted to invade her privacy. When the lights came on, it was a sign that the brunette had to get ready for her kick-off.

Two hours had passed, and the time was slower than Giselle expected. Perhaps the speed of her work had improved? Nah! Giselle was getting annoyed with her senior absence and no update from her or even their superior never mentioned anything either.

Giselle's train of concern was interrupted when she saw a paper slip on the desk. The brunette was trying to comprehend whatever had been written on the paper, and her hands flew to her lips and followed by a gasp. She looked at Nancy who was showing sympathy and shaking her head at her. Giselle quickly took out her clutch from her drawer and took out a little cash and passed it to Nancy before writing down and signing her name on the paper.

It was heartbreaking to lose a person dear to their lives. Giselle could relate to the pain of losing the closest member of her family. She was sad, getting worried about Drew and whether she could handle it since the evidence of her smiling face was always bright whenever she mentioned her mother.

Giselle couldn't stay here without doing anything after her apprehensions. She needed to see her senior and make sure she was alright. The brunette swiftly took her intercom and made a call to Amy without any delay anymore.

"Hi, Amy. Did you hear about Drew's mother's news?"

"Yes, I did. Nancy just came by," Amy's tone was weighted, and a sigh from another line.

"I'm thinking of seeing Drew and paying her mother respects during lunchtime. Are you going with me?" Giselle asked softly.

"I'm sorry, I'm overloaded with my work right now. I probably will go there after work," Amy replied.

"Okay, I will go and see Drew at lunchtime, and I might go again with you if you're going there after work," Giselle knew she was swamped too, but she wouldn't mind seeing Drew a few times, and she hope Drew would allow her to help out regardless of her work or anything she needed to do for the funeral.

"Sure, let me know if you're going with me in the evening," Amy confirmed.

They ended the call quickly after their discussion and Giselle just sent a condolence text to Drew and asked for the address since she didn't get any update from her superior or the other co-workers yet.

The two hours to hit the lunch hours were painfully slow, but the brunette was able to finish her urgent tasks. As a slow eater, Giselle only ate half of her lunch in her bento, and she quickly drove to the place Drew had shared with her.

The traffic was jammed, but thankfully it only took 20 minutes to arrive at the place. When Giselle entered the room, a tan skinned lady was standing next to the casket with her baggy floral sundress, and she seemed worn out. Giselle assumed the lady was Drew's nanny and thought to greet her before looking for her senior since she didn't see her around yet.

In the meantime, the friend Giselle had been worried about appeared in her sight. Drew had let her hair tightened up in a ponytail, she dressed up in a plain loose white t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and sneakers.

Drew gave a small smile to Giselle in appreciation while walking in her direction, and from the close-up of her pale face, the brunette could see the taller girl had a pair of swollen eyes, and the eye bags beneath her glasses were no better than her nanny's.

"I'm sorry, Drew," Giselle said softly while reaching over to her senior to take her hands and gently squeezed them. However, she could tell Drew was trying hard to keep her smile to refrain the tears in her eyes as she only gave a nod and said close to whisper, "Thank you for coming."

The brunette lingered on her senior's hands for a while before letting them go and let the taller girl lead the way to her late mother's casket as the brunette followed behind.

The environment of the room was silent while soft music played amazing grace. Giselle could see the portrait of the lady with a bright smile on the stand in front of the casket and they were getting close to there. When the pair reached, the brunette looked at the bony white hair elderly lady in a blue dress who was lying peacefully in a half-open casket behind the glass.

Giselle finally could politely greet the nanny. She never disappointed the brunette, and she gave a welcoming smile in return. The nanny pulled the brunette closer and gave her an earnest embrace firmly. The brunette instantly got comfortable with the newly known person, and she gladly hugged the lady in return with a smile.

"Giselle, you're so pretty. I had heard a lot about you, and I finally got to see you in person," the nanny said while she pulled away and looked at the brunette and smiled. "Thank you for your kindness." She looked at the elderly lady in the casket before looking at the brunette once again and smiled, "She would be happy if she saw you. She liked good kids a lot."

"Thank you, you're too nice," Giselle smiled shyly at the nanny and she wondered if her senior had mentioned her with the nanny. She was supposed to pay Drew's mother respect, and she shouldn't get embarrassed right now.

"How about we have a seat?" Drew offered and she indicated the row of seats which were a few steps away from the casket. Giselle could tell Drew was as shy as her, knowing her face color was reflecting her warm face.

"Sure," Giselle quickly agreed, feeling grateful that her senior had piped in their conversation at the right time and followed her to the seats.

"I'll go and get drinks for us," the nanny suggested with a smile.

"I can do that for us," Giselle chimed in and she thought it would be better for her to leave her nanny and Drew for a moment.

"No, be our guest. Go have a seat," the nanny insisted, and her smile grew wider.

"Okay, but let me know if you need help," Giselle smiled in return and she was getting like the nanny who was lovely like her mom.

"Of course," the nanny grinned before leaving the room and Giselle never forgot to give double thumbs up at the nanny in return with a grin.

Drew sighed with a small smile while watching her nanny leave them and she turned to look at Giselle who was gazing at her. Drew had so much she wanted to tell the brunette, but she wondered if the brunette would care about this since she had stopped by for a visit as a nice friend would.

Drew appreciated Giselle genuinely spending her spare time to come by even though she didn't have to do it after the condolence message she had sent. Drew didn't need much from Giselle, her presence was the best comfort at the moment. She knew she needed to keep her emotions to herself instead of influencing the nice friend who was here for her, and she didn't need to torture the brunette for listening to her grieving.

"You're stronger than I thought. I don't think I could handle this if my mom or dad are leaving me," Giselle said softly with a hand put on Drew's shoulder and gently squeezed it.

The words and gestures delivered by the brunette were assuring Drew to open up. The taller girl's wall was shaken, she eventually shook her head and admitted, "I tried. Very hard. Deep down, I feel terrible, devastated, and lost after I'm losing my mom and dad."

Giselle could tell Drew was holding her pain in her chest, she understood those feelings and hoped she could be her friend's comfort. The brunette shifted her hand from Drew's left shoulder to her side for herself to sit closer and said softly, "I'm so sorry, Drew." Giselle didn't forget to caress her friend's upper arm to soothe her.

Drew smiled weakly and started to express the background of her grieving since losing her adoptive father, "They weren't my birth parents, but they were my beloved family who raised me, filled my happiness, and gave me a home."

******

I never know what my birth mother looks like since I never had a chance to see her, and my dad hated to see me because he said that I would remind him of my mother. He claimed that I was a murderer who killed my mother because she died while giving me birth.

He said I don't deserve to live since I was a murderer. So, he never took responsibility for taking care of me, he would shut me in a room of our house, and most of the time he would go out for alcohol, gambling, and drugs.

I never had any friends since I had to go home after school, and I wasn't allowed to spend time at the playground like other kids do because my dad said I don't deserve to live like them.

He barely gave any food to me, and I was only allowed to use a bathroom if I needed it. But when he needed to go out of the house he would leave a potty bowl for me.

I lived like that until I was 8 years old, my birth dad died because of an overdose of drugs. So, I lived in an orphanage for months until I met my adoptive parents.

Even though they had a welcoming smile for me, I still pulled the walls up to defend myself. I was afraid they would be worse than my father. However, there were a bunch of kids for them to pick from, but they decided to adopt me.

I merely responded to them whenever they tried to talk to me. They were patient and never gave up on me. They would always smile at me and let me be comfortable staying wherever I liked.

I would never forget what my adoptive dad shared with me, and I liked it a lot.

There was a Sunday, and my adoptive dad and I shared a silence on the porch and looked at the flowers planted by my adoptive mom. He showed me his forearm had a length of scar after a bad cut when he worked. He told me the cut was pretty bad and painful and he had to be admitted to the hospital.

He got stitched up, because the wound was so deep, and it took time to recover. The mark was still there even though it was no longer painful after recovery.

However, my dad pointed out it didn't matter to him because my adoptive mom was the only matter for him and he was grateful she would always be there for him anytime and anywhere.

He said time would heal the pain, we need to appreciate the happiness and let go of the past.

******

"I did, I really did," Drew sighed while trying to hold the tears brewing in her eyes and her head facing her lap. She tightened the grip on her lap and said with her quivering voice, "But it's hard for me to let them go."

The tears dropped on the dark-haired girl's hands, the brunette gently turned the taller girl to face her, and gradually pressed the back of her senior's head for letting her lay on her shoulder.

Drew eventually wrapped her arms around Giselle, the brunette hooked her chin on her senior's shoulder, an arm wrapped around her waist while a hand gently caressed the taller girl's back.

That was it. Giselle knew Drew had enough of this pain and that was what she could do for her friend to let the pain off her chest.

Later that day, Drew was standing next to the button for the cremation of the casket, the wound in her chest was reopened again and it was fresh like the first time she was doing this for her adoptive dad. The tears leaked down her face as she sniffled and tried to calm down. But she couldn't stop after hearing her nanny crying next to her and rambling about the memories that she wished they were still here with them.

"Mom, you're free to go and see dad soon. Please, let me take care of you and dad when we see each other again. I love you so much," Drew sobbed and bid a farewell to her late mom before pressing the button, "Goodbye, mom."

When the casket was transferred for the cremation, Drew quickly turned to hug her nanny and they still couldn't hold in their rivers of tears.

Drew officially became an orphan again. The wistful memory was playing in her head in a whirlwind since the first day she followed her adoptive parents back to the real home seemed like yesterday. Their existence disappeared in a blink of a bubble and became a memory for Drew.

Meanwhile, Giselle and Amy were crying because of watching this. The two tiny girls eventually reached over to their best friend and the nanny to join the embrace.