Helena stared at her watch with tired eyes. It had been a sleepless night, and now that it was all over, she couldn't bring herself to shed a single tear. Sometimes, Helena wondered if there was something truly wrong with her. She had acted more or less the same when she had heard news of her brother's death, except at the time she had laughed like it were just a joke.
Some things had improved since then. She wasn't laughing now, but she didn't feel much like crying either.
Sitting on the steps outside the hospital, Helena stared unseeingly into the distant horizon. The sun crawled up the orange sky. Vaguely, she realized this was the first day without Sam around, but to everyone else it was just another normal morning.
The world goes on, unmoved.
It was quiet here, at least. No sounds of people weeping, or talking in polite, hushed voices. Here, she could think and mourn in peace.
