"Please get well mother." I said hopefully, "You know father won't be able to cope much more with you lying in bed."

"Time heals everything Fiona, a few more days and I should be up and running again, just like before." Mother said, her voice weak and small from the cancer.

"Ok mother, rest now." I kissed her forehead and walked out slowly, leaving her in the bed ,eyes tiredly closing.

But a few days later, Mother was worse than ever.  Weeks passed and no improvement. I started to stop expecting her to get better to spare crying and making everyone sad. Then the day before my seventh birthday, she got up feeling fine! We all went to bed, but I couldn't sleep for two things.

1.  I was so excited about my birthday!!

2.  I couldn't help thinking that something was weird about Mother, how she was so ill and now she's running around like a little kid on a sugar rush.

The next morning, I forgot all about my hunch in the excitment of my birthday. When it was time for the cake, the light went out and then all you could see was a flicker of the candles. I blew them out and then the lights came back on. I turned to mother and said

"Mother that was brill... "

But all I was talking to was the wall. I looked down  and saw my mother crippled on the floor. After that, everything was a blur...

A week later I woke up and a note was taped to the sofa, it read

'Good Luck Fiona, I'm sure you can handle this on your own. You were always stronger than me. I've gone away because I can't look after you by myself. You will have to handle life alone.

Love you always

Father