With her palms sweaty and her heart almost out of her mouth, Rosie spoke, her voice almost shaky but she composed herself and sputtered out what she never thought she would.
"I will be needing a little time, Sir". She addressed her boss and the other executives of the company with her head bowed.
Rosie lived a life where things went well for her. She has amazing parents and went to the best school. She was also fortunate to have good friends who always root for her when she wants to achieve things in life. But, good things don't last long... Do they?
She wondered what happened to the creative part of her. How things turned upside down in a flash is something she couldn't wrap her head on. Rosie lost her parent a month ago, on the 1st of July 2022, when they were in haste to celebrate her 25th birthday with her. They took a vacation out of the country to have fun with each other, leaving her at home.
Rosy has an elder brother, Josh, who took over their family business when he was just 24. Considering the net worth of the multinational company, the executives thought it was a sensitive and risky move on the part of Mr & Mrs. Blake to appoint their son as an interim CEO at that age. After being in the role during the first quarter of 2019, the returns Josh was generating took the whole executives by surprise. He became the CEO shortly after and has been in the role till this day.
Rosie on the other hand didn't want to be part of the family business. She went into the Gaming industry a year after her brother took over the family business. Being a creative lover, Rosie did her job perfectly. She usually initiates ideas, polishes the ideas, and submits the finished work before the deadline. This made her loved by her colleagues who also do their best in their capacity. Her boss, on the other hand, is goal-oriented and doesn't have mercy on lazy workers. He likes when creativity sets in and dislikes those who aren't doing a good job in the creative aspect. This is exactly why he rates Rosie highly among her peers.
It was just 2 weeks before Rosie's birthday and she has been saving up for a while to surprise her Parents on her special day. That's comical, isn't it? She is the celebrant, yet she wants to be the one spending on her parents. This speaks volume about how much she adores "the love birds" as she fondly calls her parents.
On the said day of her birthday, her parent called before they boarded the plane to tell her how much they love and care about her and that they would soon be home. While she waited for their call so she'd pick them up on her way home from work, a call came in some hours later. She picked up her phone and what she heard at the other end made her lose consciousness. All she heard was the faint call of her name before everything went dark.
A beep sound woke her up and she slowly opened her eyes to see her brother's face. Her head hurts as flashes of what happened some hours back filled her head. Turning to her brother, she asked him a question she didn't want an answer to. A question she wished was never a question in the first place. With her throat dry and her voice cracky, she asked.
"Where are they?"
"Rosie... You need to calm down, the doctor.."
"Please" she cried, cutting her brother's statement short.
"Where are they, Josh?" She asked again.
Shaking his head, her brother spoke with so much sadness that tears her heart up. "A drunk driver smashed their car into a tree. Mom and Dad are... Mom...I am sorry Rosie, but they are both gone."
Shaking uncontrollably on the hospital bed, Rosie cried out as her brother held onto her in a consoling manner. Guilt curled up her heart at that instant as she assumed she caused their death.
It's been a month since the death of her parents. Every burial rite has already been performed to a tee, but Rosie is struggling to face the reality. She placed the ashes of her parents in a ceramic jar beside her side mirror. The way she looks at their ashes whenever she's at home shows how gutted she feels about their death.
Taking care of her parents when they get older has always been on her bucket list. She never thought she would end up taking care of their ashes.
"What's the fun of living in such a huge mansion when Dad and Mum are nowhere to be found?" She lamented bitterly.
Ever since their demise, there has never been a day that passed without Rosie punishing herself with guilt. "If only I didn't ask them to come around on my birthday, Mum and Dad would have been alive". She beats herself up so much, the bitterness in her heart started to get in the way of her creativity. Her output in her workplace took a huge hit. Her life became challenging and she wished all the pain could just end. But, she knew better. She killed them. They would have still been alive. She could have left work to home with joy because her Mom was a great cook. Now, all that is left is a house. Her home was gone.
They say 'we look nothing like what we are passing through', but that statement has been proven to be wrong in Rosie's case. She looks exactly like what she's passing through... dejected, frustrated, unkept, and depressed.
Walking out of the company, Rosie decided to take a walk instead of hailing a taxi. While walking, she saw how happy people are with giggles, laughter, and happiness all over. She missed this feeling of happiness. She wanted it all back; her parents, her creativity, and all... but she is lost. She continued walking around until she got to a river where a chair was placed. Sitting down, she sighed. The laughter of people rubbed off on her and made her heart beat. She felt her heart at ease and all worries lost. Unzipping her bag, she brought out her phone and started typing on her notepad.
After a while, she stopped typing and reviewed her work to make any addition or subtraction to what was written. Seeing everything was in perfect shape, she sighed in relief. She was subconsciously soaking in the emotions in the background and the peace it brought gladdened her heart. Families of the dead all feel the same thing. They feel sad and dejected about their loss. Some wallow in self-pity, but Rosie couldn't stop thinking of what her parents would want for her at that moment.
Staring at the sky, she knew her parent would have loved her to be happy. They always told her to smile at all times...no matter what life brings. Laughing out loud, she held her heart, muttering "goodbye" to her parents.
Smiling deeply, she reviewed her work again. Seeing it was all good, she patted herself on her shoulders as she spoke. "You did amazingly well today Rosie. All you needed was peace and happiness to bring back the creativity in you."