Natalie* had been working overseas for two months, finally boarding a flight home at the end of production. She's been working on the Filipino version of Survivor so it'll take at least a day's worth of travel, a little more since she's literally on the other side of the planet. So she prepares herself for a very long flight. She's ready to come home, not having had any contact with her grandparents, mother or stepfather in these past months.
He's already killed himself, but she won't know that until her plane lands.
She was close to him, "He dated my mom for four years before they finally got married." She pauses for a moment and adds as an afterthought, "This month would've been their tenth anniversary."
He had put a gun to his head. "There was no warning, no reason," Natalie offers when I ask. As far as anyone knew, he hadn't had any problems, let alone depression or suicidal tendencies.
Four weeks later, she writes the word "love" on her wrist, letting it face inwards, "So I keep the love in, instead of sending it away."
She had planned on getting this tattoo beforehand. Now, on the heels of death, it acts as a small memorial to a man long gone. The token heart at the side isn't just a decoration. It's on her pulse and every time she touches it, it reminds her that she's still alive too.
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