An Honorary Son

I watched as my honorary son struggled to breathe under the oxygen mask that seemed to be holding his face in place. He had been sick with cancer for a while and the thought of him leaving was insane to me.

This young man had been an honorary member of our family for as long as I can remember; and I considered him to be my son.

His parents were separated and they were selfish people. They were so wrapped up in their own affairs that they gave no time for him. When I realized he had no real care, I stepped in to help as much as I could.

As I looked around the hospital room, I saw his mom finally come in to see him. She stepped back as she caught the sight of him. She was shocked at how thin and frail he was. He had become unrecognizable and she made him aware of it by her actions.

You could smell the alcohol on her breath from across the room but I tried not to judge. She gave me a once over and walked towards her son’s hospital bed. He looked at her and turned his back. It seemed to me that he wanted nothing to do with her.

After all of the years of neglecting him, it finally caught up with her. She tried her best to hug him but he wanted none of it. The look that he gave her said a lot; and after constant rejection, she stood up and left the room.
I felt bad for her but what did she expect from him? She and her husband were never around and he had to fend for himself before I stepped in. I looked at him and felt the tears well up in my eyes. His suffering was real and it was very hard to watch.

My son and their friends gathered around his bed and cracked jokes, held his hand and talked about video games. Every now and again I saw my son leave the room to take a break. He knew enough to leave when he felt himself losing it and I was grateful.

I walked out also to get some air and when I returned I heard crying. The doctor was in the room examining the patient and from the look on his face; we all knew he was gone. All of his friends fell to their knees, held on to walls and held their heads. I was the only adult in the room so I had to try and comfort them with hugs and looks of encouragement.

I gathered everyone into the hall and we just held on to each other and cried.

My honorary family member was gone and it hurt like hell, but I was determined to get through this. Hopefully, his biological mom would get through it too.

On my way home I stopped by his mom’s house and just looked at her. She clutched the door and I held on to her arm and lead her to the sofa. We just looked at each other and cried. It was then that I realized we both needed to put an extraordinary young man to rest.

In the end, we did put that young man to rest and his mom and I became the best of friends. We travelled together, attended functions together, and every year we celebrated our son together.

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