Arrow Lake clair de lune

She wanted to yell at her sister, demand a reason for coming here now just to dump more grief on their lives when they had already suffered so much. Taki closed her eyes. Her throat felt dry, and her blood pulsed in her ears. For a moment, she felt like she couldn't catch her breath, like she was suffocating on all the emotions she was fighting so hard to keep hidden. When she opened her eyes again to look upon her sister, all the turmoil melted away, leaving only a sucking hole of despair in her chest. She rarely fell victim to tears, but she was helpless against the moisture welling in her eyes then. Her siblings had always had the ability to break through her stony facade. She turned away, not wanting Tahani to see her cry—she hated for anyone to see such a moment of weakness.  

She shook her head at the offer, intending to refuse any help from her dying sister and demand that she just take care of herself. But she thought of her grief-stricken children then, and with a deep intake of breath to steady her voice she asked: Will you just spend time with the children? Their well-being mattered more than anything else, even her own broken heart. The loss of their father has been so hard for them...they need support from their family. Even if their aunt's would only be temporary. It was all she could ask of her sister.