Mother & Son

[Year X432 - Norma]

It was a gray afternoon on planet Norma, it had been raining all morning and Irma was waiting as usual for Weisz to come back from elementary school. Usually, she would see him running home with his sly smile and his backpack, ready to tell her about the latest discoveries of the day. But that day was different: Irma immediately noticed that something was wrong.

Weisz was walking slowly in the house, his gaze lowered, and it almost seemed as if he didn't want to be seen. When she reached him, she saw the mark of a bruise on his cheek, a black eye and his shiny eyes. All this while he was shaking like a leaf. One look was enough for her to understand that he had had a VERY difficult day.

Irma immediately knelt in front of him, placing her hands on his legs. "What happened to your eye?" she asked in a worried voice. He lowered his gaze, as if he wanted to avoid saying something that would hurt her. "I fell..." The boy tried to say.

"You don't hurt yourself like that just by falling! What happened??"

"Nothing happened."

"It was a bully?"

"No, it wasn't!"

After a moment's hesitation, he whispered, "Some jerk said, 'You don't have a father because he cheated on your mother and ran off.'" Then she lowered her voice even further, tears in her eyes.

Irma's heart broke. Every word Weisz said was like a wound she felt on herself. "So you had to fight your friend."

"That idiot is not my friend!"

Without thinking twice, the woman wrapped him in a tight hug, as if to protect him from the pain and the entire world. "I'm sorry, Weisz... They all expects a family to have a mom and a dad," she whispered, trying to stifle the tears that were welling up in her eyes.

Weisz stayed in his arms, finding comfort in the warmth of his family. After a moment, she looked up and said, her voice cracking, "I don't care about that... This is what's normal for us."

Irma took a deep breath, then smiled at him as she held him. "You are such a good boy. And I promise I will make sure you never feel alone, because I love you enough for both a mom and a dad."

She knew this would come eventually, but she was ready, and so was her little boy. He was a very intelligent and sensitive 8-year-old. "I know it's hard, Weisz, and I'm sorry you have to go through this. But you are no less special than anyone else. Your family is the two of us, and I will always be here for you. I will always be by your side, every step of the way."

Then, she placed a hand on his cheek, wiping away a tear that was slowly falling. "It doesn't matter what anyone says. You are special and strong, and your family loves you so much, even if it is different from other children's."

The boy nodded, finding comfort in her words. Not all the pain was gone, but he felt a new strength inside him, as if his mother's love was an invisible shield that protected him. He hugged her even tighter, and for a moment he felt safe again, as if nothing and no one could hurt him.

"Thank you, Mom," Weisz murmured, letting himself be lulled by Irma's reassuring presence. She kissed his head and whispered, "Forever, Weisz. I'll always be here for you."

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