I slowly opened my eyes. It was a very sunny morning. I heard the happy chirping of the birds. But their voices bothered me. How could they sing as if there was no tomorrow, unaware of what the world was like, how cruel it was? In the past, while I was enjoying life, I used to look at the empty half of the glass after an incident. I sighed and walked towards the kitchen. As soon as I stepped into the kitchen, my nose met with the delicious smell of pancakes. I smiled a little when I saw my father by the stove. It made me happy to remember that I was not alone. I sat at the table. My father turned to me and smiled. “Are you excited?” I was confused. What was I supposed to be excited for? I hesitated before answering. My father would be very upset if I forgot an important day. “Why?” My father had a confused expression. “What day is it today?” I started to panic when I asked. I had forgotten an important date for sure. “Market.” I replied in a questioning tone. A sad smile formed on my father’s face. “Today is the 24th. That is the day my only daughter was born.” said. I couldn’t believe what I heard. Did I forget my own birthday? I wanted to apologize, but it would be a little silly for me to apologize to my father for forgetting my own birthday. So I started staring at the tile on the floor without answering. Unexpectedly, my father asked, “Are you okay?” he asked. I nodded my head with a smile on my face. The truth is, I didn’t know the answer to this question either. But I didn’t want to worry my father. The last thing I would want to do something that could upset him.
It all started that day. I was sitting in the cold corridor of the hospital staring at the plain white wall. The doctor finally decided to let my father and me in. My heart was shattered when we entered the room. It hurt to see my mother in her hospital gown looking at us tiredly from the bed. That’s when we heard the bad news. My world was turned upside down by the sad news that pierced my heart like a dagger. I found out that my mother has cancer. After that day, it was even worse. I felt like I was living in hell. I was walking to and from school every day, acting like nothing had happened. When I got home, I met my mother, whose hair was falling out from the drugs, and who always looked at me with tired eyes. I remember like it was yesterday that I cried every day until I fell asleep. But I was putting on a bold expression in front of my mother. Because he needed support and morale, not a weepy girl. I always convinced myself that everything would be alright. But like I said, life is cruel. Nothing went the way I wanted. My mother was hospitalized. Not long after, he passed away. From that day on, I wanted to forget everything. I wasn’t eating or drinking anything. My father found me a therapist and I was better now. Maybe I wasn’t. Maybe I was just trying to convince myself that way. Either way, it didn’t change the fact that I had lost one of the two people I valued the most in my life. After breakfast, my father took me to the living room. On the carpet lay a small gift package. I got the package. I was shocked when I opened the gift package. This is the most beautiful bracelet I’ve ever seen in my life. There was a golden key. When I looked closely at the key, I got a second shock. My mother’s name was engraved on the key. A bitter pain entered my heart. I turned to my father with wide eyes. He was looking at me sad too. “I bought this bracelet for your mother when we first met. Now I want it to be you.” said. Tears began to flow from my eyes when I heard what came out of his mouth. I suddenly felt that I was not alone. As if my mother was with me…
At that moment, my way of thinking changed. I had not lost my mother. My mother was still with me with what was left of her. I put the bracelet on my wrist and started to think. I would never take this bracelet off. As long as the bracelet was on my wrist, my mother would be with me..