"Mummy?" Nine year old Mordecai Green sat on his bed with his legs spread out in a V shape, gnawing on a chocolate bar. There were soft footsteps before his mother, Alice Green, opened the door and chuckled. "Yes, gumdrop?"
He smiled at her, licking the melted chocolate out of the wrapper. "I love you."
"I love you too..." She sang, her voice like an angel's. "But it's almost time for bed."
A pouty frown grew on his face and he crossed his arms, throwing his wrapper down. "No, mummy! I don't wanna!" He squealed, causing Alice to chuckle again, going over to him and kneeling down. She ruffled his hair and kissed his head. "Let's go wash up, then."
The short, stocky boy continued to pout, glaring off.
"Now, marshmallow... Don't make that face at me. I'll make you those waffles you love so much tomorrow morning. Extra chocolate syrup." The woman offered.
"Extra EXTRA."
"Extra extra." She giggled.
"And a pony!"
"Whatever you want, Gumdrop..." She sighed and brushed his hair away from his face. "Come on. To the washroom."
He finally stood up, holding her hand. It always felt so warm and comforting. "You promise that pony?"
"I promise, marshmallow..." Alice sang, leading him to the master bathroom and helping him onto the counter. She ran the sink and began to hum softly to herself.
"Mummy?" Mordecai chimed, swinging his short legs off of the counter. "What's wrong with your skin?"
She raised an eyebrow, although immediately knowing what he meant. Her complexion was unusually pale, with veins and blotches showing. Putting her hand over her cheek, she let out a sad sigh. "Don't worry yourself... i'll be okay."
"You've been that way all week..."
The unusually concerned tone in his voice broke Alice's heart. "I'm just tired, is all..."
He nodded and looked down, letting her wet a rag and wipe the chocolate from his mouth and hands.
"Two ponies?"
Alice laughed softly at this, slowly nodding her head. "Three. Four. However many my little Mordecai wants. My beautiful little boy..." She dried his face and sniffled, holding back a sea of tears.
Mordecai's face lit up and he bounced up and down in his seat. "I want a third house just for all of the ponies i'm going to get, Mummy! And I want them all to be purebred and silky white!"
"Of course." She kissed his head and helped him down, watching him dance excitedly back to his room and shut the door. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears and she turned away, sobbing into her hands. Trying to keep from wailing, her knees grew weak and she fell to the ground. Everything in her universe seemed to be floating away from her. And soon she'd have nothing.
She didn't want to leave Mordecai and his father alone. There was no nerve in her body that wanted to go. She had a happy, wealthy family, and perfectly good friends. It was so hard to accept it would all cease to an end so soon.
Alice looked at her pale, shaky hands and sobbed again, quickly quieting herself. Mordecai couldn't know. It had to seem like an accident. Like it came from nowhere. The sad truth was that she was poisoned at a party by a jealous and vengeful colleague, but she didn't even know that. She thought it was some sort of disease.
Then out of nowhere, Mordecai called for her to tuck him in. It was like angels singing to her ears. He was so special to her. Stumbling up to her feet, she struggled to go into Mordecai's room. The light was off, so he couldn't see anything wrong with her.
"Tuck me in, mummy..." He yawned, sinking in the bed.
She nodded and tucked him into the bed lovingly before leaning down and kissing his forehead. "I love you so much, Mordecai... I love you more than the stars love the moon..." She hummed, her voice wavering weakly, as she reached up and unclipped the locket around her neck. "I want you to have this..."
Mordecai took the locket with gentle hands and opened it up. "Why? This is your special necklace..." He sat up a bit, before Alice laid him back down. "Shh... No worries. You're special to me. More special than anything... anything..." She ran her shaky hands through his hair. "Goodnight, marshmallow... I love you."
Nodding concernedly, he set the locket on his nightstand. "Hey, mummy... can you sing me that song?"
Alice turned around and bit her lip. She had close to zero energy in her body, she knew she wouldn't wake up in the morning.
"Gumdrop, please... I-"
"Please, mummy! Come on!" He whined, clenching his fists.
Noticing the tenseness in his voice, she sat down on the edge of the bed and took his hand.
"Lullaby and goodnight, thy mother's delight...
Bright angels beside my darling abide...
They will guard thee at rest, thou shalt wake on my breast...
They will guard thee at rest, thou shalt wake on m-"
Mordecai's eyes widened in concern and slight fear.
"M- M..." She kept trying, the life from her eyes quickly draining.
Mordecai squeezed her hand and jolted up from his position. "Mummy?! Mummy! Mummy, are you okay?!"
And then, in a scene that could only exist in nightmares, her face completely paled and she fell backwards onto the floor, causing Mordecai's heart to fall into his stomach. "MUMMY! MUMMY! NO! NO!" He sobbed, scrambling off of the bed and to her side. Tears raced down his face as he sat there, paralyzed in fear. "D-D... D..." He shook his head and covered his face. "NO! WAKE UP! WAKE UP, MUMMY! I MISS YOU!" Shaking her violently, he was crying so hard his throat was sore. Everything was sore. Especially his heart. He wailed and covered his face, rocking back and forth. "DADDY! DADDY!" He cried, sending frantic footsteps into the room. The door flung open to reveal his father, in a complete panic. He knew this would happen in advance, just not this soon...
"Oh, my god... Oh my GOD! OH MY GOD!" He broke down and kneeled beside his lifeless wife, taking her hand and showering it in kisses. "ALICE! ALICE! HONEY, WAKE UP!" He knew it was hopeless, but his mind was too blurry to process anything. Starting to cry himself, he turned around and pulled Mordecai into a tight hug, rubbing his back. "Shhh... shh... y-you're okay... she's o-okay... she'll b-be fine...." He tried to comfort his shaky son.
"S-She's g-gone..." Mordecai pulled away from him, not in the mood for any hug. "N-No... I mean..." His father stumbled for words. "She's... she... I..." He looked over towards Alice and shook his head, breathless. "She's where she belongs now... with the rest of the angels..."
