Who Am I?

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Laurel

"Daya, DAYA, oh my god, please wake up! No, no, it's not time for you to go. Daya, Daya, my baby girl. Please wake up. I'm not ready for this." Laurel was screaming and shaking her daughter. Then all of a sudden Daya sat up breathing hard. "Oh my god, you are alive. You're alive. You're alive. I was so scared that I already lost you. It's too soon. I love you. I love you baby girl." Laurel held her daughter in her arms crying. All Daya could do was wrap her arms around her mother to comfort her.

When they finally pulled away from each Laurel pulled a crown of flowers off Daya's head. Daya's eyes grew wide. Laurel then looked at Daya's shirt. There was blood on it. "Oh, my god, you have been bleeding again. Are you hiding stuff again?"

Daya looked down at her shirt like she was trying to focus. Then she looked back at the crown of flowers. She touched the flowers. Her eyes grew wide again. Then she looked backed at her mom.

"Mom, mom. I think I just met your mother." Daya had tears running down her face. "She was so beautiful. You favor her a lot. The golden meadow. I was in the the golden meadow." Daya leaned in towards her mother. "I did not believe her. Your mother. I do now. I do now. It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a dream." She picked up the crown of flowers and crushed them in her chest.

"Baby, it was just a dream. My mother died a long time ago. You are exhausted." Laurel looked back down at Daya's shirt. "The heat and your pain medicine does not mix well. Are you in pain again? How much are you bleeding?" Laurel wiped some of the tears from Daya's face. Daya just bit her lip not wanting to answer. "Why did you come up with out telling me? I would have brought you if you would have asked. You can't be over exerting yourself, Daya. I still need you." Tears started running down Laurel face. "I still need you. You are my everything. My baby."

"Mom, I'm tired. Tired of causing everyone misery. I am so tired of fighting this battle. The doctor confirmed it this morning. That I am dying. I'm dying." Daya wiped tears from her face and took a deep breath. She looked at her mother, "I heard this calling in my head. It was telling me to come up here. I thought is was death calling home. The same way death called grandpa up here. You said he looked like he was happy dying up here. The calling. It wasn't death. It was your mom. My grandmother, calling me up here. To the golden meadow." Daya pulled the crown of flowers away from her and held them out to Laurel. "She made this to prove to me it was real. The golden meadow was real. She is real. She is the tree." All of a sudden, all the limbs of the tree started moving like there was a wind, but none of the other trees around them were moving. There was no wind in the air.

Laurel stared wide eyes at the tree. Flashes of a golden meadow came in her mind from her childhood. Then she looked back at her daughter."You can fight this still. Death is not calling you yet. I don't care what the doctors say. Miracles happen everyday. When I was two years old. I got really sick one day. Life threatening sick. A day later, I woke up and my sickness was gone. It was a miracle. You have to fight. You can not give up."

"Mom, I love you. This cancer is not like what you had. I don't think the cancer that has taken over my whole body, can be cured in one day. My clock is ticking down and I don't have many days left. You need to be strong for me. But yet you need to be strong for yourself." Daya took a deep breath. "I am ready to die. Yes there has been more pain and bleeding. But that is to be expected."

"Baby, you can not say things like that. You are my whole world. A parent should never outlive a child. Please don't talk like that." Laurel said while holding Daya tightly under the tree. She felt some rain drops land on skin and looked up but there were no clouds in the sky. Daya notice it too and looked up at the tree.

"She is crying for us to. Daphne, your mother. The tree is you mother. She's a tree." Daya reached down for her nose piece. She put it on, so she can get some oxygen. "I know you don't believe me about your mother. But she misses you and fears for me." Laurel watched as Daya closed her eyes. She knew that her daughter needed rest. "I don't think I can stay awake much longer. I am so tired." Daya laid her head back on Laurel and fell asleep.