I was content with life. I was at peace with it but gradually, life was driving me to point zero with a tiny string of hope as motivation.
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I mopped my mum’s face with the towel as her breathing was gradually deteriorating.
“You should have some rest,” she said in her frail, dying tone and my heart shattered all over again.
“You should do the resting. Don’t worry about me,” I said with a feigned smile and she slowly shook her head.
“You have been up all night, Pauline. It breaks…” She swallowed hard before she continued. “It breaks my heart to watch you stress this much over me.”
“I am not stressing mum. I am not even tired,” my face was evidence that my words were untrue. I was exhausted and on the verge of collapsing. I can’t remember the last time I had a proper sleep nor had proper care for myself.
She slowly raised her hands to my cheeks and I rested my face in her palm. I miss those times when she was my solace. Those times when we were at peace with our lives and things were going just right.
I slowly shut my eyes and for a brief second, I could feel that peace slipping in but soon was back to my reality when I opened my eyes.
She was gasping for air.
“Mum!” my life flashed before my eyes. My only source of joy, the only family I had left in life was fighting for her life.
“Mum, please. Please, don't leave me!” I had no idea what to do.
“Doctor!!” I yelled at the top of my voice and in no time, the doctor and nurses walked in. They did their thing while I stood in a corner sobbing in my palm. The tears had made my sight blurry and now, even my thoughts were foggy. I had no idea what else to do except to wait for the doctors to do their thing.
A few minutes later, she was calm and the doctor looked over at me. The look on his face was sullen and so was my heart as I slowly shook my head without even hearing a word from him yet. I knew it was about to be sad news.
“We can only try our best. She doesn’t have much time left,” the doctor said calmly, patting my shoulder softly.
“Please, doctor. She is the only one I have left. My last hope of survival on earth,” I cried uncontrollably.
“I’m sorry,” the doctor said, stroking my shoulder before walking out of the room.
I slid down the wall across from where my mum was lying and sobbed into my palm. Life was not fair!
I wiped the tears off my face before taking cautious steps towards her bedside. I sat on the chair beside her bed and gently took her hand in mine. She was now unconscious.
“Mum, the doctor said you have little time to live and soon, you’d leave me. The doctor said you weren’t capable of fighting for your life and fighting for your love for me. He said you’d let the failure of the heart take you away from me without looking back and they can only try,” I sniffled, squeezing my eyes as I sobbed. “You wouldn’t let that happen, mum!” I shook my head as I cried more. “You wouldn’t let that happen. You love me too much to just leave me. You would fight. You would win and you would be with me. You are my only hope in life, Mum. I cannot do it without you!”
I rested my head on her palm and cried uncontrollably till I could feel my head hurt and my eyes ache. Slowly, I could feel my eyes getting heavy and closing up. Soon, I fell asleep.
I felt a little tap on my shoulder and I shrugged but the two came again.
“What?” I moaned out as my shoulder was gently shaken. I slowly opened my eyes to the persistent tap. I waited a bit to take in what was going on before I raised my head. This was oddly the best sleep I have had since I have been with my mum in the hospital for two weeks now.
I rubbed my eyes with my knuckles and squinted them till I could see clearly now. My mum was sitting up on the bed.
“Mum?” I called out with shock and confusion and she smiled at me. Her smile was strangely bright and healthy. She looked like a totally different person.
“It was a miracle,” I heard the doctor say out of nowhere.
“What?” I asked with a creased brow and my mum smiled broadly.
“It just vanished, Pauline. I don’t know what it was but she is healthier this morning than she had ever been,” the doctor commented and I slowly looked over at my mum who was still smiling broadly with a nod.
“Yes, baby,” my mum said and I hugged her tightly, sobbing into her shoulder.
I prayed to the Lord, and he answered.
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