Page 146 of Seven Letters

Johnny touched her cheek with the back of his hand. ‘OK, love. Coffee it is.’

They went into the kitchen and Johnny handed round the filled mugs.

‘So where is this beach exactly?’ Riley asked.

‘It’s kind of hidden. You have to climb down lots of steps to reach it. Sarah liked to walk there,’ Mia said.

‘That’s a lovely place to do it,’ Zach said. ‘I’m sorry I never got to meet your sister. Riley speaks so highly of her.’

‘She was kind of wonderful,’ Mia said quietly.

For a while they were silent.

‘Zach’s keen on the high jump,’ Johnny said.

‘Oh, yes. That’s nice.’ Mia nodded absentmindedly.

‘We should probably go now.’ Riley stood up. The whole thing was way too awkward.

Johnny grabbed his keys and they all got into the car. They drove in silence to the beach. He parked on the edge of the road and they each took a small bunch of white balloons from the boot.

The steps down to the beach were steep. Below them, they could see everyone waiting. The day was calm and clear. The sky met the sea in an infinity of blue. Two people walked their dog along the shore.

When they reached the others on the sand, Mia and Riley handed white balloons to Adam, Izzy, Charlie and Olivia. Izzy was clinging to Adam’s leg.

Riley went over to her. ‘Hey, Izzy, here’s your balloon. It has a little card attached to the bottom. You can write a message on it, if you like. Will I help you?’

Izzy nodded. Riley bent down and held up the pen.

‘You write it,’ Izzy said.

‘What do you want to say?’

‘“I wish you weren’t dead. I miss you. I will always love you for ever and ever and ever.”’ Izzy began to cry.

Riley finished writing the note and cuddled her. ‘I know it’s hard, Izzy. I’m so sorry for you. But I’m here for you. I’ll be your big sister and your best friend and your sleepover person and your hairdresser and your shopping buddy and whatever else you want me to be.’

Izzy put her little arms around Riley’s neck and held her tightly.

Mia wrote her card. It was simple. ‘We love you and wemiss you.’ That was it really. Love and missing. Throw in heartbreak too and that pretty much summed it up.

Charlie came over to her. ‘Tough day, but I’m glad we finally get to let her go.’

Mia nodded. ‘Yes, Dad, me too.’

‘She’s at peace now with that little baby. The suffering is over. I can finally remember her as she was, my lovely Sarah.’ He reached out and took Mia’s hand. ‘You’re a good girl, Mia. You’ve been wonderful through this whole nightmare. You were a great sister. Sarah always looked up to you. She was mad about you. Olivia told me I don’t praise you enough, so I want you to know that I’m very proud of you.’

Mia leaned into her father and laid her head on his shoulder. ‘Thank you, Dad. That means the world to me.’

They stood in silence looking out over the bay. Mia made a mental note to be nicer to Olivia from now on.

Adam approached them. ‘I’ve written my message. I think everyone has. We should probably let them go soon – Izzy’s getting overwhelmed.’

‘Sure.’ Mia wiped her eyes and followed him to Izzy. ‘Are you ready, pet?’ she asked.

‘Yes,’ Izzy said.

‘Let’s get everyone to line up, then, and we’ll count to three and let them go up into the sky to Sarah.’

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