A letter maybe?!

I placed the letter in my lap quickly in bit to avoid mom's questions.

"You are awake," I declared.

Mom looked at me with her tired eyes and gave me a weak smile, "Of course baby, I have slept enough."

I nodded at her. "You are feeling better now?" I inquired taking her hands in mine again.

"I have been better, " she told me heaving a sigh.

I gave her hand a pat in an attempt to solace her.

"What was that paper in your hand?" She again asked me eyeing the paper now resting in my lap.

"Uh-," I trailed off again. I looked at the paper again and then at mom. 'Why is everyone investigating me today?', I internally thought.

Mom raised her one brow and motioned to the letter, "it's a ," I looked at her and put on a fake smile trying to pursue her, "A letter, yeah a letter," I said nodding.

"From whom?" She again asked looking through my soul. "A friend," I told her curtly. I saw her again opening her mouth to ask me something so I told her myself, "it's nothing important mom, you should not worry about these stuff."

She eyed me again and then nodded suspiciously. I sighed in relief.

Mom tried turning around to face me. So, I moved to help her. I put my hand across her shoulders and put the pillow behind her so that she could lean on it.

I turned around to sit in my chair again when I saw I no more had the letter with me. I started looking under the chair and bed for the letter when I heard mom's voice,

"Wow, you have progressed, you have friends in Harvard now?"

Bewildered, I turned to look a piece of paper in her hands, more precisely my acceptance letter. "Shi**", I muttered under my breath.

I saw her reading through the letter, "Is that for real?" She yelled out in excitement as much as her poor health could allow her to, but to my dismay she started coughing hysterically I hastily moved to her and put my hand on her back to calm her coughing, "here," I said giving her a glass of water.

She drank it, and looked at the letter with pride filled eyes again, and looked at me with  her eyes shimmering with unshed tears,

"Come here," she said motioning me for a hug.

"I'm so proud of you baby," she murmured patting my head in her usually motherly manner.

"Oh my God, my little girl is going to college," she said now again looking at paper. I sat there looking at the 50 watt smile on her face that had lighten up her face after a long time.

"Mom," I tried gaining her attention "I'm not going." I said lowering my head.

She abruptly threw the paper on the bed and looked at me with a questioning glance.

"Why?"

"Mom, I don't wanna leave you, I have told you many times already," I tried to explain.

"You know my words as well," she gave me a challenging gaze as well. "Mom," I whined like a baby.

"Alicia Walters," she said in a furious voice giving me her oh so famous intimidating look. "I would not take your excuses, you are going and that is final."

"But mom," I started but she cut me off, "Alii, you know that this all is gonna end pretty soon, everything will change. I don't want you to suffer." She said motioning to her weak body.

I nodded my head, with tears in my eyes I looked down. "I want you to have something that can keep you busy, so you might not be restless." she said placing a peck on my forehead.

I cleared one traitor tear that had fallen out of my eye. And simply nodded again not believing my voice.

"Now tell me when are you going to join?" She asked excited. "I don't know, our principal called me today and told me that I should think about it, and we will then finalize all the details." I explained.

She nodded her head and again started to read the paper for the hundredth time in a row.

I smiled at her excited face, and wished that I could save that forever. I took out my phone again and sat near her.

"Mom, look here would you?" She looked up with her beautiful smile and I clicked a picture with both of us smiling after a long while.

"Wow, you look pretty." She said looking at my picture. "Just like you do." I said wiggling my eyebrows at her. She shook her head at me and started laughing, in which I myself joined her.

We both sat there planning my college timings even when I knew I was not going there leaving her behind, but did not say anything because she was happy because of it after a long period.

After an hour she again started to doze off as the medicines again started to hit in.

"Good night mom," I said slowly and leaned back on my own chair thinking about mom's ailment.

"Get better soon for me please?" I requested her sleeping form.

A few moments later I found my own self dozing off to a dreamless slumber.

_____________________________________________

I woke to the sound of something buzzing on my left side. "Damn," I mumbled shifting to my left side, but damn my stupidity. I felt the ground erupting and taking me down with it.

"Ouch!" I screamed in horror when I hit the hard ground.

I immediately opened my eyes to find myself sitting on the floor beside mom's bed now.

"Oh yeah I'm here," I said blinking my eyes and rubbing my arms now. I opened my eyes fully and looked around to see that mom was still sleeping, "Maybe I didn't scream that high? Or maybe she is just fast sleep?" I tried thinking a reason while looking at her slow rhythm of breathing.

I again saw my phone flashing so I decided to check that who was calling me this early, I picked up the phone without checking it.

"He-" I started but the voice on other side cut me off without even hearing my greeting,

"Where are you?" Jason's voice asked me in a breathy voice.

"I'm home?" I asked, as I have told him yesterday. "But you said you were coming to school," he said again.

"So?" I asked again. "I needed to tell you something." He urged.

"You can tell me now." I simply told him.

"Can you meet me somewhere?" He said now in a little calm voice.

""Uhh-okay?" I said uncertainly. "I'll send you address, come over meet me in 10." He hurriedly said and hung up.

I looked at the phone again wide eyed. "Why does he keep on hanging on me?" I thought and stood up to wash my face in the hospital room.

Before going out I left a message to mom.

And told a nurse to keep an eye on her while I was gone.