Never Apart Again (Part 2)

“I’m never leaving you again, mom. Not like how I left you, dad, Rocco, and our house.” I told her, still hugging her, and sobbing.

"I'm not too," she replied.

Her words made me feel warm inside. It made me feel so good about everything. Like there is a point for being happy today. Oh, I just love that feeling so much. I wish it would last forever. I'm just so...thrilled and excited that I could see my long-lost mother again. 

I continue to hug her again. That feeling is just so unexplainable. I could use a thousand words to describe my emotion.

"I just...can't believe that all of this is really happening—that this is all real!" I joke around with my mother.

Suddenly, I notice her pinching my hand.

"OW!"I shriek in pain, "looks like your face might have changed, but your classic pinches haven't!" 

She starts snorting, and I can't help but laugh it out too.

"Oh my darling, it has been so long since I got to touch you, and hug you, and to just...see your beautiful face. Why your sweet eyes and pale skin haven't changed since I last saw you! I just want to let you know that—" she started to cough a lot.

"Mom?" it had been fifteen years since I ever uttered that word. It felt so good to use the word 'mom' again. "Are you okay? Do you want some water? I have some water in my backpack."

As I reach inside my backpack for a bottle of water, she holds my hands and urges me to not give her water. I listen.

"Oh, I'm fine honey, no need for any water. I just have a bit of a headache, that's all. But I appreciate your kind gesture." she explains, and I listen carefully.

"Oh, ok, mom. But are you sure you don't need water or some rest?" I ask her, and she shakes her head again, so I decide not to ask her again. "So...what was that you wanted to tell me? You know, before you coughed?" 

"Oh, that? I was just going to say that I have always loved you. I am sorry we met so late. I never meant to stop searching for you. I mean, to not see your own daughter and to not see your own mother for fifteen years is not a good thing. So, I just want to let you know that I have always thought about you. Always cared about you. The first few years I have searched for you, I had no luck. Then, I thought about quitting my job and finding you, but I realized that without the money, even if I found you, we would not be able to live in a good place, with a good amount of food, or anything! Soon, as years had passed, I quit the thought of finding you because I was too old, and I was suffering under a depression of losing all my family members." 

I saw the tears in her eyes, but she tried to hide her tears.

I put my hand around her, which had turned numb after listening to her sad story. 

"It's going to be okay, mom. Everything will be fine. Well, I had started searching for you, but luckily I had someone taking care of me. Actually, long story short, I lived in a mansion with a wicked lady, but the maid was nice. For many years, she took care of me until she died, and after that, I moved out of that wicked house and rented a small apartment." 

She looked worried.

"Well, your story is no fairy tale either. But I am so happy that I finally found my daughter. You don't know how upset I was. When I lost you and father. When we lost the house, all our money, our valuables, our memories—"

"I actually have the family album. I had kept it because...well it was about to fall off the table. Though Rocco ran away from me, and I had no one else, I always held onto the album. It meant the entire world to me and still does. Every night, I used to flip over the same pictures and try to sleep. Though that day always haunted me in my memories." I told her, and I could tell that she was upset too.

"Me too, Elanor. Life can sometimes be just so...harsh, unfair. Honestly, the reason I even wanted to buy tickets for this train is to try again and find you. I had retired, and my mind now was only set to look for you. You know, let me tell you something, huddle up." she told me, and I did as she asked. I moved forward to her. "If I hadn't found you, I would have died. I had made an oath that I wanted to see you before my eyes close forever, but if I can't find you," she continued telling me, and we both were crying. I saw her taking a photo of me when I was four, "I would have looked at this photo and died peacefully."

 "Mom, please stop talking about things like that. I can't stand to even listen to any of that! Please, I love you so much, more than you can ever imagine. Please, now that you have me, don't you dare do anything to yourself."

"Just know that you mean the entire world to me Elanor. I thank the good lord a trillion times. I have never been happier before. I feel the exact happiness I had felt when you were born. Come closer to me Elanor, I will always be with you forever, and that will be a fact." her voice sounded so sweet, like honey. 

I hugged her back. For the fifth time today, but I didn't care, it felt good.

"I am so glad I found you too, mom. I have finally found my long-lost mother again." I smiled.

~The End~