Sleep Soundly

A Story by Kelsey

A short story inspired by the song "Ronan" by Taylor Swift.

"Hold on, sweetie, you'll be out of here in no time," she assures her son as she strokes his cheek. "We'll be home any day now, where you'll be reunited with your favorite toys, walking around barefoot in your favorite pajamas, and sleeping comfortably in your own bed. We'll get through this..we'll get through this," she says, not only trying to comfort him, but herself as well. A silent tear sneaks down her own cheek, followed by several others.

He's four years old. He has his whole life ahead of him. With his dark brown hair and deep blue eyes, he's a beautiful boy that's had problems all his life. Why should he be faced with this at such a young age? What kind of god would do this, to me, to my son, to anyone? He'll get through this. He has to. He's all I have.

A shy knock on the door, and then:

"We have a few updates for you, Miss." She speaks quietly, as if something's wrong. The mother jumps out of her chair beside her son's bed and asks, "what, what is it?"

"The test results came in. Your son has cancer. It's infected parts of his brain that we can't touch. Ma'am, your son isn't going to make it. The cancer's been there longer than we suspected. I'm sorry, Miss, but tonight may be your last night with your boy. I am truly sorry.."

She stares blankly at the nurse, as if the life was being drained out of her and not her son. Her eyes widen and then narrow. She sinks back into her chair and begins to sob uncontrollably. She picks her head up from her lap and takes her son's hand. The nurse leaves quietly.

Moments later, the boy wakes from a nap to find his mother by his side.

"Hello, sweetie. How did you sleep?"

He rubs his sleepy eyes and nods, as if to assure her that he slept well.

"I love you. I love you sooo much. I love you more than anything and anyone, and I always will. You're my world, little guy. You've been my world since the day you were brought into my life. You're the best thing that's ever happened to Mommy."

He takes her hand and wraps his little fingers around her pinky. The boy begins to doze off, followed shortly after by his mother.

Hours later, the mother wakes up to find that her son is still sleeping, his hand still in hers. She sits, staring at him, knowing any moment could be his last. She cries soflty to herself, telling herself that, if there is a God, he will save her boy. The monitor that's been tracking her son's heartbeat begins to slow. She stares at the monitor, waiting for the line to stable out, for the beeps to pick back up to their regular speed, but they don't. Instead, they slow down further. She wonders if she should call for help, but before she has a chance, the occasional beeping turns into one solid beep, the line a flat one. She looks down at her son and notices his chest is no longer rising and falling. She raises his hand to her lips and kisses it gently. She begins to cry, and then kisses his forehead.

"Sleep soundly, my sweet angel," she whispers as she lays her head on his chest.

© 2012 Kelsey

My Review

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Featured Review

Somber Eyes

Oh damn you, woman, you actually brought tears to my eyes. This is a very well-written, emotional piece. It's a tale that a lot of people can relate to nowadays, and one that any compassionate person can empathize with. The mother's sadness is palpable, and the visuals are so tight and descriptive that you can easily replay this in your head as if it were a scene from a movie.

To me, this was conceptually and emotionally perfect. In terms of technical writing, there are some minor mistakes (an extra comma or period here and there, a slip in the verb tense, etc), but certainly nothing that detracts from the story or readability (and I'm quite sensitive to such things). If you wanted this to be published in a mass-marketed book, it might need a bit of polishing, such as maybe changing "A shy knock on the door, and then:" to something like "A shy knock is heard, and a nurse enters the room as the mother looks toward the door." But again, these are (to me) minor issues.

Well done, my dear. Your talent is truly undeniable, and I shall eagerly await any literary morsels you throw our way.