“Mom? I’m here!”

She walked into the wallpapered room gingerly, almost as if she was afraid of waking the sleeping figure sitting comfortably in the plush armchair resting by the bed.

She smiled, a shadow of melancholy playing on her lips.

“Are they taking good care of you, mom?” She walked over to her mother’s side, sitting on the edge of the bed and gently picking up her hand.

The figure on the armchair moved slightly at her touch.

“Dad says he misses you so much ever since you moved here.”

She gently wiped her eye with her free hand as she stared at the stone face in front of her.

“He says he misses your ‘cheerful chatter’ the most, you know. The way you could fill any room with energy just by entering.”

She could feel the now familiar feeling of pain in her chest grow and grow, until it stopped her heart with it’s painful size.

“We all do, mom. We miss you so much…”

A constriction closed her throat when it felt the tiny tears threading their way down her throat.

“So much, mom…”