It was delivered by hand, and marked "urgent", but then they always were. She read "it", then let "it" ever so gently fall from her numb fingers.  Her whole body was numb. "It", the telegram, fell slowly to the ground. She watched it fall at her feet. "It is with deep regret...", "deep regret", DEEP REGRET! These words played over and over in her mind, softly, but jarringly, over and over, and over. She stood in the door way, staring out sightlessly. This was how her daughter found her. Her gentle, unflinching staring stance was in stark contrast to the excruciating grip of grief she was experiencing. Then, as you would expect she started crying, crying and screaming as though her heart was being torn from her chest.

For the little boy next door, who was standing at the window, watching this scene unfold, nothing seemed out of the ordinary until this moment, until his mother who was standing behind him, let out a sudden short heart wrenching whimper. 
He turned away from the window to look up at his mother, and asked, "Why is she crying?" His mother took a moment to compose herself before answering, trying to find the words that a 7 year old boy could possibly understand. Then she spoke.  "Do you remember that time you got lost at the shopping mall? Do you remember how upset Mummy was when the security man brought you back to me?" she asked.  "Yes," the little boy mumbled. "Yes, you hugged me so hard I thought I'd break in half.  You cried for a such long time, but you said that they were happy tears."  It was then that his mother replied, "Yes, they were happy tears, but when I couldn't find you they were sad tears. The lady next door has lost all of her 'little boys'."

"But Mummy, they weren't little boys. They were grown up boys." 

"Darling, every mother thinks of her sons as 'her little boys', even when they are grown ups." 

"Oh," said the little boy.  "But mummy, they are bigger than me so they should be easier to find."

"Darling, her little boys are lost forever.  They have gone to a place that you can't return from. They gave their lives so that other mummies never have to cry sad tears."

"Oh," said the little boy.  He wasn't sure he understood, but he did understand that the lady next door was crying really, really sad tears.  Maybe it was because she was never going to get squishy love hugs from her little boys any more and that would be really, really sad.

To learn how Louise achieved the finish and assembly of this homage to the lost, be sure to read her step by step tutorial on the Relics & Artifacts® Snapguide channel!

Supply list:
Relics & Artifacts "Egg Shrine"
Plaster of Paris
Krylon Spray Gesso
Viva Decore Croco Crackle - white
Spray mist
Plastic skeleton party decorations