HOW IT ALL BEGAN PART 2( FORCE TO GROW UP)

Esmeralda remembers the day of her mother's funeral like it was yesterday. The air was calm and still. Whilst the birds remained silent. Esmeralda sat by the lake where she and her mother would food for swans. She wore a long black dress and black shoes as she stared off into the distance, looking and longing to see if her mother would appear with a smile on her, telling young Esmeralda it was time to go home. But she never came. Esmeralda sat there until one of her father's workers came for her and carried her to the funeral.

At the funeral, there was a crowd of people at least five hundred strong, as her father was a rich and popular man in the kingdom. Everyone in attendance wore black and greeted the grieving young Esmeralda and her father. They offered words of courage and upliftment, to which Esmeralda's father gave them many thanks. But to a young and troubled Esmeralda, their words meant nothing, as they will never bring the person she adored more than anything in the world. Her mother.

Soon, the priest arrived to give his eulogy. As he began his speech, those close to Esmeralda's mother began crying. Her father soon left unable to bear the pain, but the young Esmeralda didn't cry or feel any pain as losing her mother made her tiny body numb to any feelings. She just sat there lost and zoned out, not even hearing the words the priest was saying about her mother.

When the priest finished with his eulogy, it was time to view the body, but Esmeralda couldn't bring herself to get up and her mother in that state. Her father soon returned and carried her to see her mother one last time before they closed her coffin. They strolled down to the body with sorrowful and grieving eyes, looking at them.

They arrived at the body, her father gently playing with her mother's hair as her body lay in the coffin lifeless. He then kisses her on the forehead before saying farewell to his love. Esmeralda, who could barely see over the coffin, stretch her hand to touch her mother. She could feel her mother's cold, lifeless body, which caused Esmeralda to quickly remove her hand from her mother's arm. As her mother was always warm to the touch and she didn't want to remember her mother like this.

After everyone viewed the body, it was time. Time to place her mother in her last resting place. Several workers from Esmeralda's father's mine dug the six feet hole and began luring the coffin down along with Esmeralda's mother. Sorrowful screams and tears were everywhere as they rest the coffin in the hole and began filling it back up with dirt.

Esmeralda's father tried to contain his feelings for the sake of his daughter, but long, flowing tears ran down his face, soaking into his reddish beard. But the young Esmeralda who just stood next to her grieving father couldn't produce screams, tears, or anything as she watched her mother going into the hole, becoming one with the earth once more. Even now, as a young woman, Esmeralda can't bring herself to shed tears for her mother's death as the memories continued flooding her mind.

Esmeralda remembers with the last shovel of dirt she knew her mother was gone for good. Her mother was laid to rest, never getting to spend another day with her loving husband and daughter, who adored her ever again. With her mother buried, she and her father returned, not saying a word on the way there.

Her father prepared dinner as usual, but unlike before, there were no jokes, no stories, just dead silence and knocking and forks on plates. After dinner, Esmeralda ushered herself to bed whilst her father washed the dishes. Esmeralda lay in bed as she tuck herself, awaiting her mother to come read her one of her favorite princess stories before bed.

But reality soon hit the young child as she remembered her mother will come to read her a bedtime story tonight or ever again. She covered herself with her blanket and just lay in bed. Her father soon arrived. Seeing her already laying in bed, he wished her good and took off the light to her bedroom, and went away.

For the next year and a half, Esmeralda basically raised and took care of herself, as her father was away at work. Before Esmeralda woke up for school, he would already be gone and arrived soon after she went to bed. Which meant Esmeralda was more or less responsible for herself, which was a lot to take in for a young eight-year girl who just lost her mother to handle.

But she did the best she can with what she had. Every morning Esmeralda would wake up, make up her bed, and get ready for school. She would then make and eat breakfast, iron her uniform for school and bathe. Do her hair and prepare her lunch kits and head to school. When she returned home from school, she would wash her clothes and make dinner. After eating dinner, she would bathe and get ready for bed. Sometimes she would still be up to hear her father come home, but most times she would fall asleep before he did.

She would usually only see her father for about fifteen minutes a day, as he would visit her at school when he was on lunch to give her money.

"Guess he felt bad about not being home and making her raise herself." Esmeralda thought to herself as she continued reminiscing about her past.

This continued until one day Esmeralda's father came home early with a woman called Angie. The woman was tall and slender with piercing purple eyes and long jet black hair. She wore a sexy red dress that was above her knee. Her skin was smooth and flawless, with not a blemish in sight. On her feet were black six-inch heels shoes as she gracefully and elegantly walked towards Esmeralda. She smiled and embraced Esmeralda with a loving hug, as her mother used to do.

Esmeralda's father introduced the woman as his girlfriend and remarked that he would love for her and Esmeralda to get along and she will hear more often. Esmeralda smiled as the three of them sat for dinner. At the dinner table, Angie told jokes and stories and complimented Esmeralda on how beautiful she was.

For the first time in a long time, Esmeralda was happy, as tonight's dinner remained her of when her mother was still around. After dinner, Angie left, thanking Esmeralda for having her, to which Esmeralda smiled while blushing. She then kissed Esmeralda's father goodbye, then left.

Later that night Esmeralda's father, for the first time since her mother died, tucked her into bed and read her favorite story (The princess and the frog). With the story finished, he kissed Esmeralda on her forehead and proceed to leave. Before taking off the lights, he remarked that every time will be back to normal soon, and that he loved Esmeralda very. Then he wished her good night and left.

Esmeralda pulled her blanket and, for the first time in almost two years, fell asleep with a smile on her face.