Prologue

"Mama?" I slowly opened my eyes to an unfamiliar darkness. I was lying on a dirty bed on the floor. I looked around, trying to remember where I was. As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I realized that I was in my own home, in the tiny room I shared with my mom.

But where was she?... I sat up quickly, my heart beating fast. I looked around the room again, but I couldn't see her anywhere. And then I saw her. She was lying on the floor, not moving.

I felt a lump form in my throat as I stared at her still body. Why was she sleeping on the floor? And why wasn't she answering me? I called out to her again, "Mama?" But there was no response.

I slowly got out of bed and inched towards her, my legs trembling, my eyes fixed on her still figure. I sat down beside her, calling out to her again, "Mama, please wake up!" But she didn't move.

I began to whimper, feeling scared and alone. Why wasn't she waking up? I looked around the room, hoping to find some answers, but there was nothing.

The wind was howling outside, and the windows were clanging loudly. The almost withered apple tree outside was swaying in the wind, casting weird shadows on the wall. The shadows looked like monsters, just like the ones from mama's stories.

A sudden loud bang from the window made me scream. I lay down beside my mom, shutting my eyes tightly in fear. I didn't want to see anything else. I just wanted my mom to wake up and hold me.

But as I lay there, I started to feel a strange calmness. The patter of the rain on the aluminum roof was like music to my ears. It was a steady beat, a soothing sound that seemed to rock me to sleep.

As I slowly drifted off, I held onto my mom's dress, feeling a sense of safety and security. I knew that as long as I was with her, everything would be okay. But as I fell asleep, I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was terribly wrong, her body was unusually cold.

I slowly opened my eyes to the sound of voices and footsteps. I looked around, trying to remember where I was. The sunlight stealing its way into the room through the opened window, its golden rays stabbing into my eyes like a thousand tiny daggers. I realized that I was still on the cold floor, with my mum.

The room was small and cluttered, with dirty clothes scattered all over the floor. The bed, where I had been sleeping, was a small, dirty mattress on the floor. But despite the mess, the room was home. It was where I lived with my mom, where we shared our laughter and our tears.

The voices were getting louder, and I could hear footsteps coming from outside the room. I sat up, my heart racing, and looked down at my mom. She was still lying on the floor not changing position, and that seemed odd.

"Oh God, get the child out of here!" one of them exclaimed. The voice was loud and urgent, and it made me jump.

"Sweet lord, Daniel, she's dead," another voice replied. The voice was soft and gentle, but the words were like a punch to the gut.

I felt a chill run down my spine as I heard those words. Dead? What did they mean? I looked at my mom again, hoping that she would wake up and tell me that it was all just a bad dream. But she didn't move. She just lay there, still and silent.

I began to feel a lump form in my throat as I realized that something was terribly wrong. My mom was always there for me, always smiling and laughing. But now, she was just lying on the floor, not moving.

The people around me started to move, and I saw them gently lift my mom's body. I felt a scream building up inside me as I realized that they were taking her away.

"Mama!" I cried out, my voice shaking with fear. I tried to get up and run to her, but someone caught me and held me back.

"Let me go! I want my mama!" I screamed, kicking and struggling against the woman's grasp. But she held me tight, trying to comfort me.

"There, there... It's going to be alright, child," she cooed. But it wasn't alright. My mom was gone, and I was left alone with strangers.

"Where are you taking my mama?" I demanded, trying to break free from the woman's grasp.

"We're taking her to a place where she can rest," the woman replied softly.

"But I want her to rest here, with me!" I cried, feeling a wave of desperation wash over me. "I want her to wake up and tell me that everything is okay."

The woman looked at me with tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, child," she said. "But your mama is gone. She won't be coming back."

I felt like I had been punched in the gut. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. All I could do was scream and cry, my heart shattered into a million pieces.