“Oh my god.” She said, her lips shivering.

Allison was a good mother. She had always been helping his daughter. She was almost eighteen and when she told her that she was going to a little party organized by her high school, she couldn’t make any objection. After all, she was wise, well-behaved and she knew how to remain responsible, even in the dramatic situations. She wasn’t like all the other kids. Maybe her loneliness was a precursory sign of her future tragic fate. As if, in her last months, she wanted to be prepared to the worst.

“I… I can’t believe it…”

Allison began to sob in silence, covering her face with her hands. The doctor frowned and put his friendly palm over her shoulder.

“We know that it may be a shock for you, Mrs. Merrit, but keep in mind that being in a coma is “curable”. People can… Regain in consciousness. It already happened to many of our patients. Sometimes it’s even a question of time. For the moment, we have to make some examinations to develop our hypotheses, but as soon as we have news, I’ll inform you.”

And he left her in the crowded corridor of the San Francisco General Hospital, without a backward glance, alone with her pain. Dr. Ferrell was a professional. He went to the best college of all San Francisco in 1980 with strong ambitions. And he slowly became what he always wanted to: a good doctor, famous and recognized as such. But years and years of practice also revealed his biggest weakness: he wasn’t able to comfort people. And to avoid another awkward moment, he often had to pretext an excuse to disappear.

Fortunately, that day, the nurses were there to help Allison. She was a desperate mother in urge to see her daughter. She was a good mother. And it’s a good mother’s duty to make sure their children are safe.

“Where is she? Where can I find her? Please…”

Her voice was just a quiet whisper of despair. She still couldn’t realize what happened, and how to react. It was her little girl, after all, her quiet, wise and well-behaved little girl, who was not supposed to be here, in the sterile atmosphere of a hospital.

“Just relax and breathe, Miss. We’ll lead you to her in a little while, ok?”

But it wasn’t just “ok”. It never was, they knew it, as she dissolved into tears again.

***

“Mom!”

Alice Merrit threw her bag in the living-room. It has been a tough day, because it was the last that she spent at school, which was paradoxically full of nostalgia, but as soon as she stepped in the kitchen, filled with light, her doubts disappeared and she faced her mother, smiling cheerfully at her. Some sort of connection had never left them, and she could easily deem her as a friend, a confident, unlike other teenagers and their parents. She was the only family that she had, no generous grandparents or siblings, not even a father. Only she and her.

“Guess who’s going to a party!”

The blonde woman raised an eyebrow with a little smile.

“Mmmh… You, maybe?”

“Yes! Oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening! For the first time!”

Her voice couldn’t hide her sudden excitation, and she hugged her mother before slipping away in her bedroom, before Allison could even blink. Teen’s energy, she always said. That was the only explanation. As Alice was hidden in her room, door locked, to prepare herself for the next few hours, she watched the TV in the living room, lost in her thoughts. A part of her was happy that her daughter was finally a woman, grown-up and ready to live, but on the other hand, she wasn’t ready to let her go yet. It wasn’t as easy as expected, and a few years before, she wouldn’t even have dared to think leaving her live her life. Trying to remain happy, she noticed that it was becoming harder and harder to keep the tears away from her face, but when she finally agreed to stand up and going upstairs, Alice rushed in the room with a bright red dress, her hair arranged in an elaborated chignon.

“How do I look?” she asked, her eyes shining.

Stunning was the only word which crossed her mother’s lips as Alice came to hug her.

“Hey, mom… Don’t cry! It will be fine! I’ll be right back in a little while!” She murmured against her hear.

“It’s just that you’ve grown so fast…”

A laugh escaped from Alice.

“Of course, seventeen years, it’s nothing.” She answered, ironic.

They both enjoyed the moment in silence, - and as they didn’t know yet, the last they shared – and Alice took her bag with her, and waved her hand in her direction before stepping outside, closing the door behind her.

“I’ll be back at home soon!” She cried out.

But she never will.