The Bride

Never sunshine without a little rain,
Never light without darkness,
There's no definition of joy without sadness,
And where a smile brightens, a tear may have surely fallen

The Groom
He held her hand. He didn't want to hold it as tightly as he did. But with every passing moment, he held it tighter. She was so cold. All he wanted to do was warm her up. Suddenly his hand felt too small. It wasn't doing what he wanted it to do.The bed was too small for body warmth and anyway he didn't want to crush her. He didn't want to make the situation worse. The wedding was dated for this weekend. 3 days away. Was. He needed to send out apologies. He just did not have the strength to explain it. Maybe they watched it on the news or read it in the paper.

He couldn't lose her. He didn't want to lose her. He hadn't left the bedside in 4 days. Not since they had come crushing through the emergency room. He willed her everyday to speak, to laugh, to smile. Not to give him this emotionless, calm fce that he was looking at. All he wanted was for her to wake up.

Mother of the Bride
She stood at the window clutching a blanket and stared blankly into the room. She had promised him a blanket.He refused to leave the room. A room she had come to call her home. She had been unable to pray. She had been saved for the last 2 decades and now she didn't seem to remember how to pray. Her women's group had called. Everyday since the incident they called. To say they were on 24 hour prayer watch. She never replied, she never spoke, she just listened. She was dead inside. It felt like her energy had flowed out of her 4 days earlier. Her tears were flowing freely. She wasn't crying out loud and wailing, she just didn't seem to control her tears. So she let them flow. She let them flow for her.

Father of the Bride
He had been pacing up and down the accountant's office. He was annoyed. He was annoyed that the accountant was not moving fast enough, he was annoyed that the doctor hadn't been able to fix his daughter, he was annoyed that the idiot drunk then run her car off the road, was still alive somewhere probably still getting drunk, but mostly he was annoyed at himself. At how helpless he felt. He replayed that night over and over and over. He couldn't understand. She had come home for dinner. She was moving back in for the last week to the wedding. The last week before she belonged to someone else. She was his only daughter. His only child.
He was the next of kin. He had to deal with the technical stuff and they were slower than retards on drugs. It was all he could do not to punch someone. His wife was acting so much stronger than him. He felt ashamed.
He needed her to wake up so that he could sleep. He needed them to wake her up.

The BestMaid
She couldn't take leave from work. They didn't consider her best friend a family member so according to the forces that be, this didn't count. She was developing a routine. A routine that prevented her from falling apart. She was crushing. She was dying slowly. She hadn't cried. Not since the call had come through. When he had been screaming deranged that she was in hospital and he couldn't wake her up. She was on her way to his house. He said. It was all his fault, he had screamed. She didn't even bother to change from her night clothes. Her husband had woken up confused. Running after her as she jumped into the driver's seat.
The bridal gown had arrived today. It was gorgeous. She walked into the emergency room and all she wanted to do was tell her about it. She came every day after work and told her about her day and discussed fabric and cake samples. She talked about current affairs and what was happening on the grapevine.
She had heard that people in comas still hear. She wanted her best friend to know that people cared. That she had something to come back to.

The Bride
It was so peaceful here.So quiet. So undisturbed. It was a nice place to be. She could hear people in the distance. But she really couldn't make out what they were saying. She recognised the voices though. She knew them. She could feel they were saying something important but she couldn't make out what it was. Maybe she should walk towards the voices. It might be important to hear. It might be important to understand.She wondered where her father was. He'd like it here. So would her mum. Maybe she should ask them to join her. She thought about her boyfriend. She smiled. But it was so peaceful. She felt like she could rest here. Like really rest. She didn't know how she got here. But she was glad she did.
She needed to walk back to the voices. They were getting louder. She really should walk back. But she sat down instead. She needed to feel this peace for just a little longer. She would go back later.