My Angel

A Story by Erin

The last thoughts of a mother and daughter.

I gasp for breath but only water enters my lungs. I'm drowning. Visions flash by, a mash of colors and shapes and sounds. Things I knew in this life that is about to come to a close.

"Go to sleep little Rachel," my mother whispers. I cry in my cradle, she's tired, so very tired of me refusing to sleep. She bites her lip deciding what to do, she bends over and kisses my forehead, "Good night my angel." She turns of the light and closes the door.

I'm seven now, I'm sitting on my bike, a big girl bike just like my mommy had promised me. "Don't fall my angel!" she called out to me as I peddled my way to school.

She was always calling me that, always calling me 'my angel.' Well mother, your angel's life is coming to a close, are you going to stop it? Are you going to let me live?

I blow out candles on a cake as my mom finishes singing me happy birthday. I'm ten now. I give her a hug, we beat all odds, nobody thought that we'd survive this long. "My angel," mymother whispered in my ear. "We're going to survive."

"Mom!" I screamed, flashes of color blocking my vision. Crumbling buildings and a sky full of ash. "Mom!" A tidal wave is coming at me.

A hand slips into mine, "Don't worry my angel, we'll survive this together."