That night was silent. The sky was pitch black, without a single star. Only the city lights shining through the hospital window kept Liana company. She sat on the edge of the bed, her body still weak, but her thoughts drifting far. Her fingers clutched the thin blanket, her eyes vacant.
"Raeya… my child… where are you…" she whispered over and over, as if saying it out loud might summon a miracle.
Suddenly, the door creaked open. Liana turned her head slowly, and her eyes widened. Standing in the doorway was a small figure, wearing a soft smile—Raeya.
"Mom…" Raeya said softly.
Liana froze, her breath caught in her throat. "Raeya… Raeya, my baby… you're really here?" Her tears broke free. She opened her arms wide, and Raeya ran to embrace her tightly.
"Don't leave me again, sweetheart. I was going crazy, calling your name every night…" Liana's voice trembled, her breath unsteady from emotion.
"I'm here now, Mom. I promise I won't leave again. I'll stay with you forever," Raeya said, burying her face into her mother's arms.
They cried together, their embrace warm and full, melting away all the longing they had carried for so long. Liana kissed the top of her daughter's head over and over, unable to believe this wasn't a dream.
"Mom, you have to get better, okay? I want to go outside with you again, like before. We can go to the park, eat ice cream, just like we used to…"
Liana nodded, a faint smile appearing on her tear-streaked face. "Yes, my love… I'll get better. For you."
After a while, Raeya stood and walked toward the balcony. The city lights sparkled in the distance.
"Mom, come here! Look… the view from up here is so pretty. Come on, let's look at it together."
Liana smiled and tried to get up from the bed. Her steps were unsteady, but she forced herself to follow her daughter. "Be careful, Raeya. Don't get too close to the edge…"
Raeya turned and smiled brightly, then started bouncing lightly in place. "I like it here. Everything looks beautiful from up here."
But suddenly, Raeya lost her balance. Her hand slipped from the railing. She wobbled.
"Mom—!"
"RAEYA!!!" Liana screamed. Her eyes widened in horror. Her body moved instinctively, rushing as fast as she could—but it was too late. She could only watch as her daughter's small body fell.
"Aaahhh!!"
Liana stood frozen for a second, then her body began to shake violently. "No… not my child… RAEYAAAA!!"
With all the strength she had left, she pulled herself to the railing, her trembling body climbing it. "I'm coming, baby! I'm coming for you! Don't leave me!" she cried hysterically.
And in one shattering heartbeat… Liana jumped.
Her body floated in the air, the white hospital gown billowing in the night wind, her hair flying like silk threads. For a moment, time seemed to stop. Then—
CRAAASSHH!!
A loud crash echoed through the air. Her body slammed onto the roof of a white car parked below. The windshield shattered, the metal dented deeply, blood spilling from her body that now lay twisted and broken on the crumpled steel.
People screamed and ran toward the scene.
"Oh my God!! Someone fell!!"
"It's a patient from the upper floor! Call for help, now!!"
Emergency lights flashed. Sirens wailed in the distance. But Liana no longer moved. Her eyes were half-open, her body torn and battered.
Through her blurry vision, in her broken body, Liana still tried to whisper… "Raeya…" her voice faint, as if the name itself were her final breath.
Suddenly, like a scene change…
I stood in a green field. A soft breeze blew through tall trees. The sky was blue. Leaves danced gently in the air.
And Raeya… came running toward me, laughing.
"Mom!!"
She hugged me tightly, just like I remembered.
We laughed. We held each other. And the world no longer hurt.
And in that moment, with a smile full of longing, I closed my eyes… and for the last time, I whispered her name with all the love in my heart—
"Raeya…"
---
That morning, the sky looked ordinary. The air was cold, but not biting. Raeya sat at the dining table, staring at her untouched breakfast. Across from her, Arvind sat silently, sipping his coffee without a word.
As if the universe were holding its breath before unleashing a storm.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed. Aunt Lily—a middle-aged woman who had always been close to Liana and Raeya—entered with a pale face and frantic breath.
"Sir… Miss…" she stammered, "there's… there's bad news."
Raeya stood up instantly, her breath caught. "What do you mean, Auntie?"
Aunt Lily looked at Arvind and Raeya with teary eyes. "Madam… Madam Liana is on the news…"
Like a jolt of lightning, Raeya grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. Her fingers trembled. The screen lit up, and the reporter's voice pierced like a blade.
> "Breaking tragic news this morning. A woman was found dead after falling from the upper floor of a hospital. The victim has been identified as Liana Mireille Aurelin. Eyewitnesses say she fell onto a parked car in a devastating scene. It is believed the victim was under severe emotional distress…"
Footage of Liana lying weakly on a hospital bed flashed across the screen. Then the scene changed to the incident site. Police, yellow tape, screams, crowds. It was real. All of it was real.
Raeya's legs buckled.
"No…" she whispered. "This can't be happening…"
She pinched her cheek hard. Then her arm. But the pain was real. Her chest tightened.
"Auntie…" Raeya looked at Lily, tears falling in silence. "This… is just a dream, right?"
Aunt Lily pulled her into a tight hug, sobbing. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart… I'm so, so sorry…"
Raeya broke down in her arms. Her whole body trembled. Her eyes turned red, her face soaked with tears.
"Mom… Mom… I want to see Mom… Auntie, I want my mom… MOM!!"
Arvind remained rooted where he stood. His eyes stared blankly at the screen, face unreadable. No shock. No grief. Just silence, like a statue.
Raeya looked up at him. "Why aren't you saying anything?! Why?!!"
Arvind closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said quietly,
"We're going to your grandfather's house. That's where your mother's body is being laid to rest."
---
The drive to her grandfather's house—Liana's father—felt like moving through fog. The car moved forward, but Raeya's heart was still trapped at the hospital. She clung tightly to Aunt Lily's hand like a frightened child.
When they arrived, the house was already filled with people. Tears, embraces, grieving faces. But Raeya only searched for one thing—her mother.
The air was heavy with the scent of jasmine and muffled sobs. Rows of chairs filled the large living room, and at the front stood an ivory-white casket surrounded by white flowers.
My steps halted when I saw her. Inside the casket, Mom lay still, dressed in a simple white gown, a single jasmine flower placed on her chest. The hair I used to brush every night was now perfectly combed. Her face… peaceful. So different from the last time I saw her in the hospital.
"The doctors said her body was badly damaged when she fell," Aunt Lily said softly, squeezing my hand. "But they tried their best to make her look presentable… so you could say goodbye properly, sweetheart."
"Moooom...!!!" Raeya screamed hysterically.
"Mom, please wake up! I'm here! I'm back! I promised I wouldn't leave again… Please don't leave me, Mom…!!"
Her cries shattered the whole room. Aunt Lily covered her mouth, crying in silence. Arvind stood far in the back—what he felt remained a mystery. His expression unreadable as always.
Raeya clung to her mother's cold body.
"I never got to tell you I loved you… never got to say I'm sorry…"
Tears fell one by one, soaking the floor beneath her. She held her mother's pale hand and gently stroked it.
"Mom… I'm here," she whispered softly.
"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you… I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough…"
She couldn't look away. Her mother looked like she was just sleeping, ready to wake up and hold her any moment. But deep down, she knew—that would never happen.
With a trembling voice, she called her one last time.
"Mom…"
And her sobs broke again. She gripped the side of the casket, her body shaking. Aunt Lily hugged her from behind, crying with her. But no embrace could ever replace a mother's.
Rain fell outside. A gentle drizzle soaked the front yard of the house.
But the real rain… was the storm pouring inside Raeya's heart—the rain of loss, the rain of sorrow, a rain that would never truly stop.