100 words: Cecilia

“Hello?”

“Father Philips?”

“Sorry? You have to speak up.”

“Father Philips? It’s Cecilia. My granny has just passed away. Daddy asked me to call you.”

Holding blankly onto the receiver, I could see her at the other end grasping the phone, closing her eyes and fighting back the tears.

I twirled the wire with my fingers. “I’m terribly sorry about your loss but I’m afraid you have dialed the wrong number.”

“Oh god. I’m so sorry. It’s just… There’s nothing I can do…”

“But what can we do, Cecilia?”

“Nothing. Nothing I do helps and what helps cannot be done.”