Don't Give Up, Said Mom

Christina Black squirmed. Sweat dripped down her face and it wasn’t from the South Florida sunshine. Her mother's hair was gone. There were five or six bottles of pain killers lined up on the kitchen counter.

"Christina, where are you?" Mrs. Black called. "I want you to sit and read to me honey."

Christina's green eyes watered and she pushed back her black bangs. They stuck up slightly from all the sweat. "I'll be right in," she shouted. Her voice cracked a little. She grabbed her mother's pain pills and placed them on a tray with some toast. "Okay mom, I'm ready," Christina said.

She peered around the door to see her mother's head wrapped in a handkerchief. Her mom was so skinny and frail. A big lump clogged Christina's throat. There was saliva stuck in the corners of her mother’s mouth making her look half alive. Slowly Mrs.Black's eyes fluttered closed.

Christina put the tray down on the end table and crept out the front door. She raced towards her favorite spot. It was at the end of the street on a private boating dock. She collapsed onto the dock and burst into tears. Her mom couldn't have cancer. She was only thirteen. What would she do without her mother?