"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."--Dr. Seuss

[38]

ways we can mourn someone's life. One being, everyone decides to mope around, wear black all year round, and just slip into a dark place that I've visited more times than I can count on my ten fingers and toes.

Two being, we celebrate the life that has just vanished right before our eyes. We do the exact opposite of one and carry on our everyday lives. We wear our usual clothes even if they consist of black, we smile instead of cry, and lastly, we have a reason to live and not disappoint.

Either we slip into that dark place, or, we survive.

Lily Harley is my best friend and she will always remain with that title. She saved me when I continuously pushed her away. She deserves the title and she'll always have it.

Today is Lily's funeral. I wear black and only black. I huff in frustration and fall back on my bed. The Harley family have pushed everyone away over the past week. Mrs Harley blames me for the death of Lily, and quite frankly, I silently agree with her.

Though, I'll never give her the pleasure of knowing that after the things she's said to me. She's accused me of many things over the past week. Some things don't even relate to Lily. The lady only visited Lily twice out of the three weeks Lily was at the hospital.

The second time is when we found out she passed...

My heart clenches at the thought and I bite my lip to stop myself from crying. I didn't step out of my room for two days after we found out the news. It was only when Adam barged into my room – quite literally tearing the door down – and hoisting me off my bed and onto his shoulder.

He set me down on the lounge couch and took my hands in his own. He told me that even though Lily isn't physically here with us right now, she'll always be here mentally. She wouldn't want us to be all depressed - especially me since we all worked so hard to get me out of that dark place.

I nodded my head in agreement and ever since that day, I've been more productive. I opened the curtains, cleaned the floors, and dusted the shelves. Anything to get the thought out of my head.

A soft knock on my bedroom door awakens me from my thoughts and I jump in surprise.

"Come in!" I yell. The door opens and reveals a very formal looking Adam. He smiles at me and slowly walks over to me.

"Prezioso," he acknowledges before too, flopping down next to me on the bed. I grin at him.

"Adam," I acknowledge back in a deep voice. Adam chuckles at me and shakes his head in amusement. A short silence follows.

I fiddle with my fingers and sigh every so often. Adam soon catches on and turns his head to me. He narrows his eyes at me and laughs lightly.

"What's wrong?" He asks. I purse my lips trying to find words to form the sentence properly.

"It's just – well, you see, Lily wouldn't want her funeral to be like this," I mumble gesturing towards the clothes I'm wearing. I'm not complaining about Adams attire though, he looks hot in a suit. He laughs and sits back up.

"Isabelle, we're attending a funeral. No funeral that the Harley's will ever throw is going to be sunshine and rainbows. Everyone mourns a life differently, it's better if we celebrate Lily's life traditionally then doing it differently. Not everyone is going to agree with us when we say we should throw a massive party for Lily, okay?" He explains.

I softly nod my head and sit up. Adam looks into my eyes before lifting his hand up towards my face. He brushes a strand hair out my eyes and gently kisses my lips.

"You look beautiful," he murmurs against my cheek.

"Thank you..." I whisper and nod my head again before pecking Adams' lips once more and standing up. I take one final look at myself in the mirror before turning around and heading out the room.

Nerves begin to fill my stomach when I grab the flowers off the bench. I'm attending my best friend's funeral. I close my eyes for a short moment, preparing myself for what was is to come. I walk out the front door and look up at the sky.

The sun glares its way through my blue orbs, punishing me for looking up at it. I faintly smile knowing that today is going to be beautiful.

A beautiful day for a beautiful girl.

Adam walks up from behind me and places a hand on my shoulder. I turn around and look into his eyes.

"You ready?" He asks gently. I smile warmly at him and nod my head.

"As ready as I'll always be..."

Sunshine and rainbows are the only things I see as Adam and I walk hand in hand up to the reception. Blue, yellow, red, white flowers surround us as the sun reflects down on everything.

"Looks like sunshine and rainbows to me..." I mumble quiet enough for Adam to hear. He looks down at me and grins.

"I honestly had no idea," Adam says chuckling. I smile and roll my eyes.

As we approach the reception, the nervous feeling in my stomach doubles. A few familiar faces wave and nod in 'Hello' while the more unfamiliar ones merely glance at us.

So welcoming.

I look around the building in hope to find Nolan, but instead, I see it.

The coffin.

In it lies my best friend. I bite my lip in hope to contain the tears and quickly look away. To think that she is so close is unbelievable.

Adam squeezes my hand reassuringly before pulling my arm along with him. He makes his way over to Mr and Mrs Harley who are both looking anxiously at us.

Before I can comprehend anything, Mrs Harley wraps me up in a hug and cries. I frown in confusion and pat her back awkwardly.

"There, there..." I mumble, confusion laced in my voice.

I look behind to the side where I see an equally confused Adam and Mr Harley, both staring in awe at the sight before them. Has Mrs Harley, once again, changed her mind about me?

I gently pull away and rub Mrs Harley's arms soothingly.

"Hi, Mrs Harley, how are you?" I ask politely. Her eyes fill up with fresh tears before they begin to stream down her face again.

I'll take that as she isn't well?

"I'll live," she replies while using her hands to rub her eyes. "I'm so sorry for being such a crude lately, I don't know what's got into me! I guess I just needed someone to blame for the de – death of my daughter..." she says quietly.

I sadly smile at her before pulling her in for a hug once more.

"We'll make it Mrs Harley, whether it be happily or sadly, we'll make it..." I mutter. Mrs Harley nods her head, sniffling before suggesting that we take our seats.

I stare blankly at the coffin, feeling my heart continuously clench at the sight. Adam squeezes my hand tightly and taps his foot anxiously on the ground.

And then, the ceremony begins.

The service is beautiful. Family and friends express fond memories of when Lily was young, yet, no one knows her like Nolan, Adam and I did.

As time ticks by, the sun goes down, and slowly, I feel the grief set itself back in my heart. I close my eyes and deeply breathe in.

"Such a beautiful soul indeed, now, finally, we have Lily's best friend, Isabelle..." I hear someone say out of the mic.

My head snaps up in surprise. I turn to look at Mrs Harley who wipes her eyes and slowly nods her head at me, a small smile on her face. I cautiously stand up – still in shock – and let my shaky legs do the rest of the work.

I grip the mic anxiously and glance at the 'audience'. Why must I speak when I have nothing prepared? Mrs Harley can't just throw me up here just because she can.

"Hello-" I cut myself off and take a deep breath before continuing.

"Hello everyone, my name is Isabelle Thompson. I haven't got a speech prepared because I honestly had no idea I was going to be up here today, so don't mind me for my stuttering..." I begin. My eyes dart towards Adam who smiles warmly at me.

"I've never had a friend as good as Lily – well, actually, to be honest, I never had a friend before Lily. I wasn't allowed, friends. I grew up in an abusive household you see, but that didn't stop Lily though. No matter how much I tried to push her away, she would always find a way to befriend me again..."

"Hi girly!" Lily yells from across the hall. My back tenses up and I warily look around hoping no one is looking at us.

No one is. Luckily.

I grit my teeth in annoyance before spinning around and facing her.

"Hi," I mutter. Lily rolls her eyes before grinning at me again. She shakes her head before taking my hands in hers and pulling me down the halls.

"You can't just get away from me. Believe me, when I say this, Isabelle, no one – and I mean no one gets away from me. I get what I want and right now, I want you to be my best friend!" She grumbles in annoyance.

Bipolar much...

A frown etches itself on my face and I purse my lips out as If I'm going to say something. Lily turns to me, a smile now back on her face.

"Why? You don't even know me..." I mumble quietly, my voice timid. I quickly look around in hoping David won't see us.

"My point, exactly!" She cheers happily. I scrunch my face up in confusion.

"Um..." I question. Lily shrugs her shoulders before looping her arm back into mine.

"Isabelle, I have a feeling we'll be great friends!" She says.

Lily Harley is the weirdest girl I know. I swear to god, if I ever become friends with her, she'll die, I'll die, everyone will die.

Slowly, but, eventually.

"I didn't believe that the Lily Harley would want to be my friend, or, as she put it herself, great friends. Till this day I find it so unbelievable that I had the pleasure of knowing Lily and without her, I'm afraid that I would still be in that place. Afraid and alone." It isn't until now that I realise I'm crying. I quickly wipe the tears off my face and smile at everyone.

"We'll always miss, Lily. No matter how much I try to get rid of the feeling that I'm forgetting something or someone, I just can't. We all have memories and we'll hold onto them," I say, speaking loud and clear into the mic.

"Thank you..." I whisper before walking off stage. Adam stands up and elopes me into a hug.

"You did amazing," he mumbles into my ear. I nod my head once before I let the unforgivable sobs leave my body.

The doctors said that she died because of a missed blood clot in her brain. If they found it earlier, they said that there was a high chance that she would have survived.

Lily chose to leave us. She didn't want the doctors to find the cause of her death. Somehow, deep down inside of me, I feel like Lily is right next to me, smiling and laughing like she usually is. Lily Harley will always remain with me no matter what happens.

I love you, Lily. You left me too soon, but don't worry, I understand.