It's strange, one day I wake up like any other day, my room is as usual, the worn wooden closet of a strange brown color mixed with gray, the fishing rod that I used to fish every weekend and the shelf with the high school books that I planned to throw away. As it seemed like a normal day, I put on a shirt and pants and leave my room.

I go to see my parents, Dad is sitting quietly in the mahogany chair, something I was not used to. I approach him, and when I look at him I only receive a blank look as if he were dead.

- Hey dad, what happened? Where's mom?

- It's gone now. - He tells me without emotion.

- What do you mean he's not here? Did he die? - I say, unable to believe it.

All I can do is run to my parents' room and as I enter I see my mother's body hidden under the white sheets. I go over to try to wake her up but she doesn't respond. I whisper to her to wake her up and as I pull the sheet away I only see her peaceful face. I finally accept that she's gone.

Over the next few days we were preparing for the funeral. I was feeling very sad, but Dad seemed much more affected than I was, he hardly bothered to go out except to work at the steel mill or eat, apart from that he kept to himself in his room. In the end I was left to organise Mom's funeral with a few of her friends, all condolences went to me but not to Dad, he was never really liked by the neighbours, he didn't interact with anyone either at work or in his free time, you could say that Mom was the only human being he interacted with on an emotional level.

A week later the funeral took place. It was a cloudy day. The grave for Mom, although not made of the best material, was what we could afford. A few neighbors came, the owner of the store with his family and the priest of the local church, so in my best suit I had to begin giving the speech.

- Thank you so much for coming. We are here to honour the memory of Sarah Featherstone, beloved mother, wife and friend to all. She was born and raised in our beloved town, Belgrade, she was always ready to help those in need and treated everyone with a smile, she raised me and taught me everything I needed to get ahead and we will certainly all miss her.

Then my father came over and started his own speech, he had been preparing it for days and he wasn't sure what he was going to say, but he knew that he was the best person to give a farewell speech.

- Hi everyone, I'm John Featherstone, Sarah's husband, I know you don't know me very well and you may not like me but we can all agree that Sarah was the nicest person in the village, she always treated others with a smile, helped those in need and could see the good in each of us. She helped me through some very hard times and even though she's no longer with us we must continue to be strong for her by showing us that you can keep a positive attitude in the face of the greatest difficulties. We love you Sarah.

Then the priest came over and while reciting some verses praying for God to take care of her, he looked at dad and asked me what to do with him and how to tell him the news of my departure.