See it to believe it.

She looked through the small round window sitting in the middle of the door. She knew why she was here, even if they wouldn’t tell her. Closing her eyes, she took a breath. It didn’t seem to bring in the flood of calm that she required. A face appeared in the small round window, it was red and tear streaked. She didn’t want to look at the face and the emotions being played out as they looked at her. The person behind her pushed the small of her back, pushing her to take a step forward to the tear streaked face behind the door. The girl took a step unwillingly, and slowly let her feet take her forward, as her mind screamed to go in the other direction. Run, it was telling her. Run. The lady with the red and tear streaked face embraced her as she walked through the door. The walls around them were too white and the hug was too tight. They didn’t have to say the words. She knew. Everyone in the room avoided her glance. It seemed as if they were trying to find the words they should be saying to her, on the much too white walls surrounding them. She was pushed to a room, as a mixture of words from the lady were spilling into the silence. But her ears seemed not to be working today. She wasn’t able to make out what the lady was saying, she could only focus her eyes to what was lying in front of her. If she told anyone this story in the future, she wouldn’t be able to describe the room she was standing in. Only of what was in the centre of the room.

A lady who was lying too still..

She couldn’t look away..

The lady was lying too still on a simple hospital bed. The colour in her face wasn’t the normal blush and warmth of a summers sunset. It was a foreign colour. It was pale and cold. The lady’s face was empty of emotion. The moment was finally broken by someone talking, and finally her ears seemed to comprehend the words being spoken.

“She needs to see this, or she won’t believe it to be true.”

The girl didn’t need to see it to be true. She knew the truth the moment she got the call to come here. The moment she got in the car. The drive to the hospital. As she walked those dreaded steps.

She knew all along.

She knew the truth.

The girl knew well before she looked at this lady lying pale, cold and still in front of her.

She already knew that her mother was dead.