Adults who lose both parents are orphans, too. It's a term we rarely hear, and a grief we often expect adults to simply manage.
At 30, Jia Ling lost her father to renal failure and cardiac arrest. Her mother had died of breast cancer decades earlier. The loss didn't shatter her world; it emptied it.
The family home was full of her father's absence-his worn work bag, his empty chair, his favorite cup. The absence was a presence in itself.
The pressure to be strong is immense. On her first day back at work, a colleague's simple question, "Are you okay?" broke through her composure. That moment of compassion was what she needed.
For Jia Ling, and many others, grief doesn't fade. It settles. "Moving on" is not about forgetting, but accepting the grief as an imprint of love and learning to carry it-and the memory of those lost-as life continues.