"Hey, Talia. How did you sleep?"
"I slept well… I… sniff~ sniff~ Where is grandfather?"
Talia stopped here as tears began to gather in her eyes and she slowly started to sniffle as the memories of what happened yesterday came back to her! Her grandfather was dead! She will never get to see him again! He will never stand behind her for hours while trying to get her hair under control again!
Talia was slowly realizing that she was finally alone in the world!
Mark swung his legs over the bed and beckoned her over as he opened his arms, and Talia slowly walked up to him and allowed him to carry her onto his lap. Mark wiped her tears away and spoke softly.
"Don't cry, Talia. James protected a lot of people on that island. They all owe their lives to him, and he died protecting them."
"I need him… sniff~!"
"I'm sure he also wanted to be here, but… things don't always work how we want them to. Okay?"
