Whenever she asked if Sean and I had argued, I remained silent. But a few days later, Mischa and Sean showed up to wish her a happy birthday.
While grocery shopping, I received a call from the hospital saying my mom had been pushed to the ground and couldn't get up.
Instantly, terror overwhelmed me. An endless, suffocating terror ...
I don't even remember how I made it to the hospital. All night, I signed more critical condition forms than I could count.
For as long as the lights were on in the emergency room, I knelt outside, praying to any god who'd listen not to take my mother.
She was all I had left. But in the end, I still lost her.
She suffered an acute heart attack and passed away despite all attempts to save her. Legally, Mischa inherited the home my mom and I had lived in for twenty-five years.
I couldn't bear to return there. Without my family, even the coziest house no longer felt like home.
I took my mother's ashes and moved into a small, temporary apartment. One evening, after finishing my shift at a bubble tea shop, I returned exhausted to my rented place.