Quiet Love

Sunny Saturday morning. Bright skies, white fluffy clouds, bright sunlight, cool breeze, calming chimes.

She already did all the chores. What was left to do was cook for lunch but it was still too early. While working, she remembered a dream she had a long time ago, probably two years past.

The night before she received bad news regarding her mother. No, she did not die.

Her parents separated May of this year and she rarely saw her mother then.

They texted and called each other occasionally, but recently she didn't get to hear anything from her mother. Even when she texted her, there was no reply.

She thought her mom is probably busy making a life on her own so she didn't thought much on it. She understands her mom needed time for herself.

The news she received made the possibility of not seeing or hearing anything from her mother possible. She went numb but she didn't cry.

Somehow, she knew this day would come. And it did. She was prepared... but not for the numbness.

While waxing the floor, she saw a gloomy, empty road in her minds eye. Walking a long stretch of grey roads, with shadow less unmoving trees and lamp posts rigid in attention, the sky became covered with smoked clouds, turning and twisting in succession.

A truck wheezed by and she turned in curiosity, as anyone would to stare at anything in motion besides herself in an empty world. There, at the back of the truck, she saw a couple of teen-agers talking excitedly with each other.

And with them was her mom, nearest to the open door, listening half-attentively to her companions, tightly clutching a big green backpack.

She turned and ran, trying to chase a truck. "Mama! Mama!" Arms stretched, she had the notion she could catch her mother that way.

"Mama! Mama!"

Her mother probably heard her for she looked at the road, and saw her daughter chasing the truck.

"Mama! Mama!"

But the mother did not do anything. She simply stared with a solemn face and nodded, simply acknowledging.

"Mama! Mama!"

And too soon the truck was but a speck on the long gloomy road and the girl stopped chasing.

She waved. Waved to her mother, whom she had no idea where is headed.

The clouds continued to swirl in the sky. No sound, no wind, nothing embraced her in the solitude she has at that moment.

Physical exhaustion does wonders for hyped emotions. She continued waxing the floor until her head had nothing but dedication to her work.

Her mind continued to do so when she defrosted the refrigerator, cleaned the house, swept the dried leaves from the garden, washed the clothes and now, while dicing the onions for lunch.

At the background is the television showing a Disney MTV. She drowns herself to the work, to the music, to the breeze that wafted through the open kitchen window.

She placed her knife down, and went out for a moment to simply turn her face to the sunlight.

'Mama, please be okay.'