MOMENT WITH MY MOM

by Miguel Alvarez

It was morning on the 24th of August; I was awakened by screams. It was my grandmother yelling and crying. My brother and I got up and went to go see what was happening. I saw my aunt and her eyes were red and watery.

At that moment my step dad, tall and thin with tearful eyes said, “Give your mom a kiss and say bye, she died.”

I knew what he was going to say already, but I didn’t know how to react or feel. I went up to her; she was lying on her bed. She was really skinny from the chemotherapy with her eyes closed and her mouth open. I got on my knees, took her hand, and kissed it as I said goodbye for the last time. I felt the warmth of her hand when I kissed it that was the last time I felt it. With my grandmother still crying uncontrollably and my brother bursting out in tears, I felt there was too much emotion so I left the room.

I went to go sit down on the couch in the living room where now I could only hear the cries from a distance. I sat there by myself staring at a picture of my mom when it finally hit me. I felt my eyes get watery then and a warm tear run down my cheek as I realized she was gone and wasn’t ever coming back. I felt alone and abandoned, the woman who gave me birth and took care of me all my life had died