Darkness

I am standing outside the ICU, waiting for my mom’s reports. Will she be alive, or will she be sent to Heaven? My mother was diagnosed with COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). When I was 6 years old, she and I decided to have a race. We ran and she won. However, as soon as we got to the end she stopped abruptly. I was confused. Her face became the color of tomatoes. She fell to the floor and started wheezing. I yelled for dad to come. He ran to help her. He picked her up and ran to the car to put her in. We took her to the hospital. All the doctor did was give her some medicine.

Most nights she could not sleep. Sometimes at night I would hear my dad scurry in panic to get some water for mom, but nothing helped. Days passed. Even months passed. Her illness kept getting worse. We took Mom to Rose’s Hospital for a full checkup and that is when they figured out that she had COPD. She was agitated that she was going to die. We all committed to supporting her through this stage.

Now, we are here waiting for reports. My heart is beating faster. My blood is pumping faster. Sweat drops roll from my sweaty forehead to my cheeks. My breath smells like cold blood. Then finally, the doctor came out. His head was low and saddened. “Doctor! Is my mom ok?!” I rush to him. Silence. “IS SHE OK?!” I asked again, but this time I yelled loudly alerting all the patients waiting to consult the doctor. The patients all looked at me as if I was lunatic. I ignored them and kept my full focus on the doctor. “I am sorry. We couldn’t save her.”

I woke up in a hospital bedroom. Dad was across from me wiping his dry tears. Then Dad looked up and noticed that I woke up. “Oh sweetie!” He ran over and hugged me tightly. I closed my eyes wishing every minute of my life was a dream and it was not real. “You fainted...Hearing your mother’s death.” One of his teardrops fell on my cheek. “Let’s go home and forget about everything that happened.” He grabbed me, but I refused. “Wait. Can I see my mom one more time?” “No. That is

going to make you more emotional.” He grabbed my hand once again and headed to the car.

When we arrived home, I ran to my room and slammed the door. I looked around my room and found a picture. The picture was dusty and old. It was a picture of my mom holding me in her hands. She was smiling joyfully. I was sleeping. I held the picture close to my chest and started sobbing. My dry tears dropped on her face. Drip. Drip. Drip.

Then I heard a knock on my door. “Can I come in sweetheart?” I did not reply. He slowly opened the door and entered my room. I looked at my bed. “I wish...My mom was here...Dad why is this happening?!” Dad hugged me quickly. I knew he loved mom, way more than I did. “I know sweetie. I wish we could have mom back, but we can’t.”

My dad did not have a job. Now he must find a job as soon as possible or we will suffer to death. “How are we going to live without any money Dad?” I asked wiping my tears. “I don’t know sweetie. We have to figure out many things in our life that we don’t know about. I will try my best to find a job. If we can’t...” Dad stopped talking and went speechless. “We will have to start begging.” I couldn’t believe what I heard. I hugged dad more and cried. We must find something, or we will have to do what Dad said. “Come eat. It’s your favorite dinner, pizza.” “I don’t feel like eating.

Everything had been in darkness for me since this happened. It’s painful to say goodbye to someone you don’t want to let go...” I said looking at the picture of mom. “I know...I have experienced a lot in my life, too. My mom died of cancer. Then a few days after my mom died, my dad committed suicide. I had an older brother, Joseph, who took care of me. When I was 14, he left me. I never knew where, but he did.

Stranded on the streets of Copenhagen as a young kid was scary. I cried, but that didn’t help. I knew I had to be strong and I was ready to face anything. I found a woman who was willing to adopt me. She took care of me and became my “mom.”

Then a few days later, she died, and she gave her belongings to me. I was smiling yesterday, I am smiling today, and I will smile tomorrow. Simply because life is too short to cry for anything.” I try my best to stop my tears. Dad is right. Life is short to cry for anything. I must stop whimpering and move on. “Can you come eat now honey?” “No. I have to do something.” I replied leaving the appealing picture of mom and me. “Be quick, ok?” Dad said blinking to get rid of his tears in his eyes. “Ok...”

I rush outside to Frank’s Frames. Frank had a lot of picture frames and I needed one immediately. I ran past a kid and a mom. The kid’s mom scooped the kid up and held it in the air. The kid giggled delightfully. I felt tears on my cheeks again and then wiped them.

I finally reached to Frank’s Frames. “Hi Maria. What do you need?” Frank asked when I opened the door. “I need a big picture frame.” I say smiling a bit. "Okay.” He went to the big shelf and yanked out a big box of frames. “You can choose, ok?” Frank asked wiping his hands with the stained and filthy towel. “Ok.” I reached in the prodigious box. I moved my hand across inside the box trying to find the right frame. Then I got a bite. “Ow!” I rapidly took out my hand and looked at my sore hand. Just then, a repulsive rat came out with dense teeth. I quickly moved back petrified. “Oh! That’s just a rat! Sorry Maria. I haven’t had any sales in months.” “It’s ok.” I said rubbing my sore finger. I looked in the box once again and found a perfect frame. I turned the frame around and took a thorough look at the price. The price was 0.99 euros. I dug in my pocket and tried to scoop up some euros. Nothing in my pocket. “Uhh. I don’t have any money with me...” I replied looking down ashamed. “You can pay the money later if it’s that urgent,” Frank replied polishing up the dusty photo frames. “Ok, bye.”

I got to my house and opened the door. The creak notified my dad. “Dad, I am back.” I told him. “Where did you go?” he asked placing a slice of pizza onto two

plates. “I went to get a picture frame to put mom’s picture in,” I replied lifting the picture frame to make it more visible. “Ok...” Dad said taking a seat. “Dad, I am going to go put the picture in the frame.” I yelled running up the stairs not even waiting for a reply. I grabbed the photo and put it in the frame. There. I took it downstairs and put it on my kitchen wall. Then dad looked at the picture sadly. “Where did you get the money from?” he asked. “I told Mr. Frank I would pay him later,” I responded. Then dad grabbed the picture from the wall and hugged it. I joined him. It is sad when someone you know becomes someone you knew.

THE END