?


    Yerick drove, taking Wesley away from the house.


    It was only then that Wesley realized the ce Yerick had brought him to was deste, with only a small house in sight. The area was so remote that there were no streetlights.


    "Yerry, why did you buy a house here?" Wesley asked.


    "It''s quiet. I like it," Yerick replied.


    "It''s quiet, alright, but it''s so isted and with no shops nearby. Did you live here before?" Wesley asked.


    "Godfather, this is just a ce Ie to when I want to clear my head. Plus, with a car, it''s easy to go anywhere," Yerick exined.


    They had been driving for about ten minutes, but through the car window, Wesley still hadn''t seen any other residents. It felt eerily silent.


    After a while, the car came to a stop. There were lights here now, but they didn''t seem like public streetlights.


    "Godfather, let''s get out. My mom is just ahead."


    Wesley got out of the car, and the two of them, holding flowers, walked down a small path in front of them.


    Wesley looked around. The cold wind blew, giving the area a somewhat deste feel.


    After walking for a few minutes, they stopped in front of a tombstone. The tombstone was very simple, with crooked lettering. There was a ring of lights around it, but no other graves were nearby. It was the only grave in the area, surrounded by weeds.


    It wasn''t the usual cemetery where people were buried.


    "Godfather, my mom is buried here," Yerick said as he ced the flowers in front of the tombstone. "Mom, I''vee to see you. I''m sorry I''m a bitte today. Some things held me up, and I also brought a friend with me."


    Yerick turned to Wesley. "Godfather,e over here and meet my mom."


    Wesley felt uneasy. Looking at the deste tombstone before him, he felt a tightness in his chest, making it hard to breathe. He gently ced the flowers down.


    On the tombstone, the name "J" was engraved, with a small inscription beside it: "Dedicated by her son, Yerick."


    "Godfather, what''s wrong? Why aren''t you saying anything?" Yerick asked.


    "Yerry, why is your mother buried here?" Wesley asked, his voice filled with concern.


    "This ce is nice because it''s quiet. My mom loved peace, so she wouldn''t have liked being buried in a public cemetery," Yerick exined. "But can people be buried here?" Wesley asked.


    "Why not?" Yerick replied. "Thisnd. is all mine. I bought it, and I can bury whoever I want here. Godfather when you pass away, I can bury you here too, next to my mom,


    "What?" Wesley eximed, shocked. "What are you saying, child?"


    Yerick hung his head in despair. "I''m sorry. I didn''t mean to say that. I guess it''s just that every year on my mom''s death anniversary, I get really sad."


    Yerick kneeled, gently touching the tombstone.


    "Did you know? When my mom died,


    she was nothing but skin and bones. The pain from her illness was


    unbearable. No amount of


    net


    painkillers worked. The only thing she worried about was me. The day she passed away, she was still Worrying about me because I was covered in wounds."


    Wesley''s heart trembled as he listened. "Why were you covered in wounds? What happened?"


    "Those bad kids always bullied me


    because I didn''t have a dad. My mom was sick, so they knew they could get away with it. I''d hide mye injuries from her, but that day, because she was dying, I had choice but to hold her and beg her not to leave me. She saw my injuries and cried even as she was dying."


    Yerick''s eyes filled with tears as he looked at the tombstone.


    "Mom, look at me now. I''m doing well, and no one bullies me anymore. So please, don''t worry about me anymore."