No guests, no flowers; that's all she wanted. Sorrow grew like a cancerous tumour, her pain so unfathomable, her mistakes so unforgivable, her regrets, albeit human, allowed shame to steal her hope. Like premeditated thievery, all her doubts and fears broke into her soul, carefully removing bit by bit all of her goodness, all that those around her still saw, was missing. Just gone. Her eyes once playful began to hold the anguish in their reflection; some who cared about her saw it, some who passed by her in the market may have thought, "that woman is tired". Truth is, she was tired. Tired of the fight that everyday life brought her; tired of not just her physical pain, but tired of the redundancies, questions, and the reminders of how not enough she had been.
Her beauty was never honoured, her worth ne'er imprinted upon her. That's the God given job of all life forms; it's the one thing all babies need, to be taught to thrive, to not just survive, but fight for life. Yet, in all her existence, she didn't feel valuable or believe in who she could be. So she accepted the below average, the place where even the status quo is unreachable.
She wanted others to laugh, to love, to be happy; she did reach out. What if one more hand had held hers, had a good sit down with her and assured her that they had her back, that they would help her find the answers, to get her the help, the paid for ear that listens when no one else can. What if?
Like the impending solar eclipse, a darkness, a doom of great certainty came over her and it covered all the bits of life and light she had left. No more birthdays, no more fighting, no more ugly, stained memories or labels she couldn't shake.
She would clean up her own mess; claim it, own it in a way that would erase the promises she could not keep.
All she asked for was no guests; no flowers.
Reader insights
Nice work
Very well written. Keep up the good work!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Masterful proofreading
Zero grammar & spelling mistakes
On-point and relevant
Writing reflected the title & theme
Comments (13)
So sad, ROCK. I’m sorry.
Your writing really got to me, each of your words, the ending... "no guests, no flowers." I loved it
So well written, well done
They say the size of your funeral determines what was your life once. Is it not better to have it while still alive. Still, no guests nor flowers seem so terrible. At least the family though, would be ok.
Heartwrenching, and so well written.
This was so poignant and emotional. I loved it
Very heartbreaking
Very moving. Well done.❤
Heartbreaking. And in the end, our job is to love each other, to create awkward moments. Well done, Rock ❤️
That shook me to my soul!
I agree whole heartedly with Kelli. This powerful and gut wrenching, ROCK!
this, this has looked back at me, like a reflection. The boldness, the trembling power in what next. WOW....thank you for sharing this
Wow