Claire gets woken up by a light knock on her door.
''Claire, it's mom. Can I come in?''
Her voice is almost a whisper and envelops the exhausted girl like a warm cover. When she does not answer, her mother slowly opens the door and peeks inside, leaving her daughter some time to protest if she wants to.
She walks inside the room and sits hesitantly on the bed. She puts a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder to taste the waters; see if she will flight, fight or accept the contact. After a while, Claire turns over and throws herself in her mother's arms. A plea escapes from her lips and Mary closes her eyes when she hears the broken voice of her daughter for the first time in days: ''Mom...''
She soothes her, caresses her tangled hair with the palm of her hand. ''Shh... Shhhh. Everything will be alright my sweet girl.''
Hearing this phrase makes Claire want to chuckle but she refrains from doing so. She would not want to hurt her mom in any way. She hurt her enough as it is. Instead, she simply lets the first tears of the day roll down her cheeks and tightens her hold on her mother's shoulders.
Maybe my mom is right, maybe one day I will believe those words and they will turn out to be true. In the meantime, I'll let them eat me whole and aggravate my sentiment of helplessness. I pray for her to be right, I really do.
And maybe this is enough for now.
