I will not forget

One phone call, thats all it took, to bring my world to a sudden halt. From there my day just seemed to get worse. Whenever I heard my phone ring, my heart stopped, would it be good news or would it just become more complicated. My hands stayed glued to the wheel, I was on a mission, and I wouldn't stop for anything. Slowly I came into view of the hospital, if I could just be there already, I might be spared the pain I felt.

The car stopped, and I raced for the sliding doors. Walking as my heart beat slowly and evenly, I made it to room forty-eight on the fifth floor, looking over at the bed on my right, I saw her, the woman I loved with all my heart. That woman was my, beloved mother. Her hair was white, and her old wrinkled skin, felt like silk to me. As my eyes gazed upon her I thought, how could this be, only yesterday she was getting me ready for my first day of school.

We talked for hours, about anything and everything, but more and more, I saw the shadow of death creep upon my mother. Just as her eyes were closing for the very last time, she pulled a red box fromt the bedside table and handed it to me, and then she was gone. Tears over came me, the man who stood in that room, no longer existed, but in his place stood a young boy looking for his mommy. After a few moments, I decided to open the mysterious box, that was clenched in my hand. I took a deep breath and opened it, what I found inside filled me with dispare and longing.

Lying inside the box was a miniture set of crystal stairs. They were clear and completely smooth, not a mark on them. A sudden memory, that had been locked away long ago, became clear again. It was a memory like no other, I remember sitting in the kitchen, with mom, and she told me that life would not be easy. She kept talking about her life being a set of stairs, and how old and torn they were, she said that its impossible to have a set of crystal stairs because no ones life is ever easy.

As I reflected upon my life, I realized that she had been right, my life had not been easy. The trials I had faced over the years, were never simple, and the worst trial layed before me now, and that was the death of my mother. I knew when my mother had told me those words so long ago, and made it easier for me to understand by talking of stairs. She was in fact preparing me for this day, and that I can do now is pray that she knows, how much those words that she spoke mean to me. Those small crystal stairs are her gift to me, as a reminder of what I can never have, because its impossible to get.

by: Rachel Harris