Sandy Supposes....

A Breath Away From An Agonizing Ache

PROMPT:A breath away...write a short story or poem with this first line.

          A breath away.... for several days Mom has been a breath away from dying; she in on Death's door. Now I understand her saying, 'death warmed over'. She is unnaturally pale and unresponsive. Mom is conspicuously absent. It is eerily hushed and quiet in the Critical Care room despite the constant beeping of monitors, and the gurgling, hissing, whirring, and whump-whump of the oxygen machine. A vicious infection is ravaging her bloodstream, and pneumonia has pummeled her lungs.

          A breath away..... Mom is a breath away from taking her last breath. I've asked for the oxygen pump to be turned off. Now there are moments when her chest barely rises. Mouth agape, she gasps, wheezes, and rattles. I sit next to her still form and hold her hand with its translucent skin; surprisingly, it's warm. I carry on a one-sided conversation, wondering if she hears me.

         A breath away... Mom's final moments are measured in mere minutes. I am a breath away from saying good-bye, good-bye forever. I am a breath away from an agonizing ache. My breath is sucked away into a vast vacuum.