She didn't seem to notice the 3 pairs of eyes fixed on her.
Source
She just sat there hugging herself. Tears seeped from the corners of her eyes without restraint. Her lips, parched and dry, were quivering almost endlessly.
“What are we going to do?” Daral mouthed. I shrugged.
“Let’s talk outside for a bit,” I told the others.
When we were well out of earshot, I released a deep sigh, not of relief, but of confusion.
“This is a bit extreme. This is quite worse than we thought,” I began
“Treasure, we need to seek professional help” Jane, the most chubby girl in our clique suggested.
When Cynthia called me 2 weeks ago to say that her mother had died, I rushed over to her apartment and stayed with her till the following morning. She had been weeping profusely then, recounting all of the good times they spent together but she gathered strength to eat the noodles I prepared for her the following morning before leaving.
3 days later, It was Jane's turn to go to her and according to Jane, they played a game of whot, Cynthia's favorite game, together.
A night before the burial, Jane, Dara, and I agreed to go stay with her till the entire burial was over. She was still doing fine when we all dressed up and took the first bus to her hometown.
When the body was moved from the morgue to the family compound, Cynthia began weeping again which was quite normal. However, we did our best to console her.
Sometimes she sobered up and smiled when we said something she could relate to. Sometimes she would stare into space for a while, then return to conversing with us as if everything was okay.
We all thought she was doing okay until it was time to lower her mother's body into the grave. Cynthia suddenly sprang up and rushed towards the grave, thankfully, a couple of strong men were close by and grabbed her before she jumped in.
“Leave me alone! I'm going to be buried with my mother.” We had initially warned each other against crying, at least to give her strength, but seeing her in such despair, tears began to drip almost uncontrollably from my eyes. It was the same with the other girls too.
From when her mother was lowered into the ground, Cynthia became a different person. She stopped wailing and fell silent, refusing to eat or drink anything that she was offered.
We became worried because she didn't eat from the house and it was already evening. She couldn't return home that day so we all stayed with her in her hometown before setting out for her apartment in town the next morning.
When we got back, Cynthia refused any of us to follow her home.
“I want some time with my mother,” she said. We respected her decision and promised to keep in touch.
That was the worst decision we took because, from that minute, she stopped responding to our calls. We had to go to her house ourselves 5 days later.
“Who do we know as a medical professional?” Dara, our third friend, asked.
“Let me call my mom and plead with her to fix a meeting with our family doctor” Jane suggested again. We unanimously agreed to the idea. Almost a week later, we were able to confer with the doctor to discuss some ways through which we could help our friend.
“Taking her to the gym is a plausible idea,” Dara said regarding what the doctor had told us about engaging her in exercises.
“No, I think we should all go swimming,” I said.
“Ah…swimming definitely sounds great,” Jane said dreamily, I had to smack her back to concentration.
We sat there in the hospital lobby and made a plan we hoped was foolproof. We would get her a plate of chicken, chips, and ketchup, which was her favorite meal, then offer to take her swimming.
When we got back to her house, she was asleep.
We busied ourselves with cleaning up the place which was obvious that she hadn't touched since the burial.
She woke up later that evening and was quite surprised to see us. She didn't protest when we handed her the food, instead, she ate and said a silent “thank you” afterward.
“Erm, Cynthia?” Jane began the conversation just as we planned. “How do you feel?”
When she sniffed, I held my breath thinking she would start crying again. She didn't.
“I don't know. I just want my mommy” I put my arms around her shoulders and allowed her head to rest on my bosom.
“You’re stressed. Would you like to go swimming with us?” I whispered into her ears. I was quite shocked when she sniffed again and nodded.
“Then we'll go tomorrow as soon as the sun is up,” Dara said, smiling through tears.
The next day, we handed her the new swimsuit we got and headed out for the swimming pool closest to us. That day, for the first time in 2 weeks, I saw Cynthia smile.
I looked at her properly in the sun and saw that she had aged almost 5 years in the past few days.
We began a routine with Cynthia without letting her know we were trying to give her therapeutic treatment. Every morning after prayers, we would sit down to meditate and talk about happy moments, events that made her laugh only.
Sometimes we still caught her sulking but we allowed her, her mother died after all.
I can say Cynthia rebounded after 16 weeks of consistent yoga and swimming. We didn't spend 16 weeks with her, but we sure didn't give her space in between.
I learned from Cynthia that depression, or anything at all, could be effectively managed with the right knowledge and the right people.
I like how you captured the raw emotions and the healing journey that your friend Cynthia went through after losing her mother. It's a reminder that with love, support, and the right approach, even the darkest despair can give way to light again.
Thank you, Jessy
I am happy she felt better after a while
It's during difficult time we know who are our genuine friends. It's so nice Dara and COs stood by Cynthia during such a difficult phase in her life. Losing someone dear to us can be very hard to bear.
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Thanks a lot
I'm happy you were able to have been there for your friend Cynthia when she needed you the most.
And that shows how genuine you are to her. Cause we all know are genuine friends in our hard times and you turned out to be one.
Thank you so much for the appreciation 💖
I am glad I was able to help in least way that I could.
Thank you for reading
You're welcome