AUTHOR'S POV

    Valeria carried Shaquan delicately in her hands, but she noticed something was wrong. He was crying. She smiled at him sadly and caressed his head. He became cold suddenly. He stopped breathing.

    “No, Shaquan, you can't do this. No!” she wailed, pulling him tightly onto her.

    Valeria's tears soaked through Shaquan's furs as she held onto him tightly, unable to believe that her intelligent, vibrant son was gone. Her heart felt like it had shattered into a million pieces, and a wail of grief escaped her lips as she rocked back and forth on the floor with her beloved child cradled in her arms. Memories of his childhood...