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The Ghost Who Loved Them Most

NovelMaster · English · Theater: NovelMaster, Lang: English, Genre: Romance, Genre: Thriller, Genre: Magic, Genre: Realistic, Genre: Reborn ·

The Ghost Who Loved Them Most

Theater: NovelMaster  |  Language: English  |  NEW

Synopsis

The third time I forgot where I lived because of Alzheimer's, my son finally broke.
He had been searching for me for three agonizing days. When he found me, he collapsed on the floor, weeping uncontrollably. His tears soaked the stack of missing-person flyers in his hands.
"Mom, can't you just stay home? Please!"
"This is the third time this month! If this keeps happening, I'm going to get fired!"
"Honestly, if you were just gone, we wouldn't all be suffering like this!"
He slammed the door and stormed out. In that fleeting second, my fogged brain suddenly cleared.
He was right. I couldn't be a burden to him anymore.
I turned around and walked out into the street. The very next second, an out-of-control car hurtled toward me.
As my body was thrown into the air, all I felt was pure relief.
Finally, I won't hold my family back anymore.
When I opened my eyes again, I was standing outside our apartment complex.
Leo was pacing a few yards away, talking on his phone. His face was pale and exhausted.
"Yeah, I found her. I almost lost my mind! I don't get it—her brain is completely gone, so why does she keep wandering off?"
His harsh words rooted me to the spot. I couldn't bring myself to walk over.
"I can't take this anymore! It's been five years, and my entire life and career are in ruins!"
"Sometimes I wish a sudden illness would just take her quickly."
A phantom tear rolled down my cheek. But I didn't blame him. I knew he had tried his best.
Ever since I got sick, our family's world had ground to a halt. They spent endless days searching for me, terrified of what might happen.
At first, I wanted to give up, too. But Leo had hugged me tight, saying, "Don't give up, Mom. As long as we stick together, we'll get through this!"
My husband, Arthur, had comforted me as well: "So your memory is slipping—so what? People get old. We'll handle it!"
Yet whenever I had a brief moment of clarity, seeing their worn-out faces broke my heart.
Leo rubbed his bloodshot eyes and let out a long sigh. "Sometimes I think... if it weren't for her, maybe you and I would still be together."
My heart ached. He was talking to his ex-girlfriend. They had been deeply in love, but when my disease struck, the immense pressure tore them apart. All these years, he had never truly moved on.
After a quiet moment, a faint, bitter smile appeared on Leo's face.
"Forget it, I'm just venting. She's my mother. I can't abandon her."
"Dad and I talked. He's putting in for early retirement so she won't be alone during the day."
His words struck me like lightning.
Arthur hadn't even reached retirement age yet! When my symptoms first appeared, he took me to the best specialists. The doctor recommended an expensive treatment to slow down the decline. Arthur paid for it without a second thought.
Yet my illness worsened faster than anyone anticipated. All our savings vanished, and I never got better.
Desperate, I rushed toward him. "Leo, don't let your dad retire! He loves teaching so much. He can't leave his school!"
I threw my arms out to hug my boy, but my hands passed straight through him.
A cold realization hit me.
I was already dead.
And I never even got to see my son get married.
Leo hung up, glanced back at our building, and headed off to work. I followed behind him like a shadow, trailing him until nightfall when we returned home.
Arthur was already back. The warm aroma of dinner drifted from the kitchen.
Leo walked in, didn't see me, and called out, "Dad, where's Mom?"
"Oh, probably sleeping. Her blanket looked tucked in. She must be exhausted."
Leo walked over to my bedroom door. "Mom, time for dinner."
"You walked so far today. You must be tired, right?"
Getting no response, he stepped forward to pull back the duvet. He already had his hand on the corner when Arthur called out from the kitchen.
"Leo! Let her rest. She's wiped out. I'll wake her later."
Leo let go of the blanket. He never noticed that the bed beneath it was completely empty.
He stepped back into the dining room. Arthur had already plated a warm portion for me.
"We'll save this for when she wakes up. She wandered the streets for three days. Let her sleep."
Arthur smiled softly. "I'll sleep on the couch tonight so my snoring doesn't wake her."
"Dad, you take my bed. I'll take the couch," Leo insisted. "Don't argue with me. I have some code to finish tonight anyway. The living room is better for work."
Seeing how considerate his son was, Arthur smiled with relief.
After dinner, they each went to rest.I followed Arthur into his room.
As he pulled off his shoes, I saw a large hole in the heel of his faded sock. My chest tightened with sorrow.
Ever since I fell ill, Arthur poured every penny into my treatments. Wherever there was a glimmer of hope, he took me there. In these past five years, my health only declined, while he aged a decade.
He was so exhausted that he fell asleep within five minutes of lying down.
I gently hovered my phantom hand over his weathered face and sighed. We had been married for thirty years, and I had put him through so much misery.
Just then, audio from a phone played outside the bedroom. Leo was scrolling through social media.
"...Breaking news: At four o'clock this afternoon, a fatal hit-and-run occurred outside Maple Gardens. One unidentified female victim was killed instantly..."
Panic surged through me. I rushed to the living room, but Leo casually swiped up to the next video.
If he had paused for just one second, he would have recognized my coat in the thumbnail.
Maybe it was for the best. At least they could have one last peaceful night of sleep.
A few minutes later, Leo got up, poured a glass of warm water, grabbed my prescription pills, and walked into my room.
"Mom, time for your meds."
I stood beside him, instinctively reaching out, only to pull my hand back. I was gone.
Seeing no movement under the blanket, Leo set the pills and the glass on the nightstand. "Fine. Take them when you wake up."
Getting no reply, frustration flickered across his face, but he quietly shut the door anyway.
I knew him. He was too proud to apologize out loud for what he said earlier, but bringing my medicine was his way of saying he was sorry.
Later that night, I watched him hunched over his laptop, writing lines of complex code under the dim lamp. He was so young, yet silver strands were already creeping into his hair—all worn down by my illness.
Maybe it really was better that I was gone.
Early the next morning, Arthur got up to make breakfast. Leo woke up and peeked into my room. Seeing the water glass untouched, he sighed with annoyance.
He tapped on the door. "Mom, breakfast is ready!"
"Come on, Mom. It's my day off. Let's go for a walk outside."
Still, only silence answered him.
Losing his patience, Leo snapped, "Mom, seriously, stop throwing a tantrum! Get up and eat!"
He yanked the blanket off!
His face drained of all color.
"Dad! Get in here! Mom's gone!"
Arthur dropped what he was doing and hurried over. "What do you mean she's gone?"
"She's not in bed!"
Arthur touched the sheets. The mattress was ice-cold.
The two men stared at each other in sheer terror. "When did she leave?" Arthur's voice cracked.
"I don't know!" Leo panicked.
"We have to find her! How could she leave without us hearing? You slept in the living room all night—did you hear anything at all?"
Leo completely lost his composure. "No! Let me check the indoor cameras!"
To keep me safe, Leo had installed security cameras in the apartment. But when he pulled up the footage from the night and early morning, the front door had never opened.
He rewound further back, refusing to believe it.
"Did you find it?" Arthur urged, trembling. "What time did she walk out?!"
Leo's lips quivered as he scrolled back to the previous afternoon.
On the screen, the moment Leo had slammed the door and left, I had quietly turned the doorknob and walked out into the street. I had never returned.
Leo collapsed to the floor.
"Mom... Mom left yesterday afternoon. She ran away again!"Leo slammed his fist into the floorboards. "Why?!"
"Why did she run away again?! What did we do to make her keep running?!"
"Stop crying and call the police!" Arthur grabbed him by the shoulder, hauling him up.
The local precinct officers knew our family well. The moment they heard I had vanished right after being brought home, they immediately began pulling traffic camera footage.
Meanwhile, Leo called the local volunteer search team. Captain Davis, who led the group, was also a familiar face.
I had only been found twenty-four hours ago, and now I was missing again. Everyone was scrambling. Leo was practically shaking with guilt and frustration.
"Why is she doing this to us?!"
Arthur pulled him back. "Stop blaming her! She's sick! She doesn't know what she's doing. Let's just find her!"
Leo grabbed his phone and frantically posted my photo and details all over Instagram, Facebook, and community message boards.
Messages instantly poured in from friends and relatives:
"What? She wandered off again?"
"Why can't that old woman just stay put?"
"Poor Leo... he can't even keep a relationship because of his mother."
Every text felt like a slap in the face to Leo.
Still, they had to keep looking. Leo spent hundreds of dollars printing fresh flyers, pasting them along every street corner. Neighbors and volunteers joined the search.
Leo searched until his throat was raw, screaming my name.
Arthur checked every place I used to frequent. Across from our complex was a small farmers' market where I loved to browse. Often, I would get confused there and forget the way back. Usually, that was where they found me.
But this time, I wasn't there.
Arthur showed my picture to vendor after vendor, receiving nothing but pitying shakes of the head.
By noon, having skipped every meal, Arthur's body gave out. He collapsed on the sidewalk.
A passerby rushed him to the hospital. When Leo got the call and ran into the emergency room, seeing his father hooked to monitors broke his last bit of strength.
He slumped against the wall and sobbed.
"Mom, why are you torturing us like this?!"
"Why couldn't you just let us live?! Why do you have to drag us down with you?!"
"I wish you were dead!"
Smack!
Arthur, struggling to sit up, slapped him hard across the face.
"How dare you say that!"
Arthur coughed violently, his eyes blazing. "Have you lost your damn mind, Leo?!"
"She is sick! You might think she's a burden, but I never will! If you can't take it anymore, pack your bags and move out! I'll take care of her alone!"
Leo broke down completely, burying his face in his hands. "Dad, I didn't mean it... I swear I didn't mean it! I don't want her gone..."
Arthur's expression softened into deep sorrow. He reached out and stroked Leo's hair. "I know, son. I know it's exhausting. But when we were young, your mother suffered so much for me.
During our poorest days, we barely had food for three days. She pawned the gold watch her own mother left her just to buy milk for you, and she never once complained."
"You were only a baby then. We had nothing, but she gave you everything."
"Now that she's sick, we can't turn our backs on her."
Leo nodded through his tears. Just then, his phone vibrated violently.
It was Officer Miller from the local station. Leo answered instantly.
"Leo, we found your mother."
A massive wave of relief washed over Leo's face. "Where is she? We'll come pick her up right now!"
There was a heavy, suffocating silence on the other end.
Finally, the officer's voice came through, quiet and strained. "She's at the county hospital morgue. We need you to come identify the body."
The world seemed to stop.
Leo's eyes widened in horror. "That's a lie! That's impossible!"
"Yesterday at four in the afternoon, there was a hit-and-run outside Maple Gardens. The victim died instantly. We matched the traffic cams to when she left your complex, and facial recognition confirmed a match. Leo... I'm so sorry. You need to come down here."
Leo froze. They were already at the county hospital.
Seeing the look on his son's face, Arthur grabbed his arm. "Did they find her? What did they say?!"
Leo turned around, his face drenched in silent tears.
Arthur panicked. "Speak to me, Leo! What happened?!"
"Dad... Mom was hit by a car."
Arthur stumbled off the bed, crashing to his knees. "Where is she?! What room are they treating her in?!"
"She's... she's in the morgue."The word hung in the sterile air, and Leo wailed like a broken child.
Arthur froze completely. He shook his head in violent denial. "No. No, that can't be real!"
"Dad... it was Officer Miller. You know him."
Officer Miller had helped search for me countless times. He would never lie about this.
Arthur didn't say another word. He tried to take a step, but his knees buckled. Leo caught him just in time.
After a long silence, Arthur whispered in a hollow voice, "Take me to see your mother."
His eyes were blood red as he clutched Leo's arm. Supporting each other, the two broken men walked down the cold corridor toward the basement morgue.
It was my first time seeing my own deceased body. My face was pale, the bloodstains wiped clean, but the faint purple bruises remained. I lay there quietly under the fluorescent lights.
The coroner spoke softly. "She had no pulse when the paramedics arrived. The driver was speeding under the influence; he's already in custody. Once you confirm her identity, please sign here."
Leo staggered toward the metal table. Looking at my motionless face, he whispered, "Mom..."
Arthur dragged himself forward. With a trembling hand, he reached out to touch my cold cheek. The moment his fingers grazed my skin, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed.
A nearby nurse caught him just in time. Leo was torn in half between his father and me, screaming in frantic panic.
Soon, relatives arrived at the hospital. Some helped take care of Arthur, while others stepped in to help arrange my funeral.
Arthur was stabilized, but he had suffered a mild stroke and remained unconscious.
Outside the ICU, Leo sat on the floor, holding his head between his hands, weeping until he could barely breathe.
"It's my fault... I shouldn't have said those things to her!"
He remembered every cruel word he had shouted before storming out. That was why I had left. I had walked right into death because of him.
Relatives tried to comfort him, telling him it was just a tragic accident, but the crushing guilt consumed him entirely.
I hovered over him, wishing so badly I could gently pat his head.
Just then, Officer Miller walked in holding an evidence bag.
"Leo, these were your mother's personal effects found at the scene. See if anything is missing."
Leo took the clear plastic bag. Inside was a small box of fresh honey sponge cakes.
The moment he saw them, fresh sobs tore from his throat.
Everyone in the room turned to look, their eyes welling with tears.
"Leo, please... be strong."
"Your mother wouldn't want to see you like this."
"Even when she couldn't remember anything else, she still remembered to buy your favorite cakes..."
Leo pulled out a piece of cake and shoved it into his mouth. He choked on his tears as he chewed.
Just then, Arthur slowly opened his eyes from the hospital bed. Seeing the scene, his trembling fingers reached toward the plastic bag.
Inside, beneath the cakes, was a small bag of sweet clementines.

Chapters (4)

Chapter 1   Chapter 2   Chapter 3   Chapter 4

Chapter 1

The third time I forgot where I lived because of Alzheimer's, my son finally broke. He had been searching for me for three agonizing days. When he found me, he collapsed on the floor, weeping uncontrollably. His tears soaked the stack of missing-person flyers in his hands. "Mom, can't you just stay home? Please!" "This is the third time this month! If this keeps happening, I'm going to get fired!" "Honestly, if you were just gone, we wouldn't all be suffering like this!" He slammed the door and stormed out. In that fleeting second, my fogged brain suddenly cleared. He was right. I couldn't be a burden to him anymore. I turned around and walked out into the street. The very next second, an out-of-control car hurtled toward me. As my body was thrown into the air, all I felt was pure relief. Finally, I won't hold my family back anymore. When I opened my eyes again, I was standing outside our apartment complex. Leo was pacing a few yards away, talking on his phone. His face was pale and exhausted. "Yeah, I found her. I almost lost my mind! I don't get it—her brain is completely gone, so why does she keep wandering off?" His harsh words rooted me to the spot. I couldn't bring myself to walk over. "I can't take this anymore! It's been five years, and my entire life and career are in ruins!" "Sometimes I wish a sudden illness would just take her quickly." A phantom tear rolled down my cheek. But I didn't blame him. I knew he had tried his best. Ever since I got sick, our family's world had ground to a halt. They spent endless days searching for me, terrified of what might happen. At first, I wanted to give up, too. But Leo had hugged me tight, saying, "Don't give up, Mom. As long as we stick together, we'll get through this!" My husband, Arthur, had comforted me as well: "So your memory is slipping—so what? People get old. We'll handle it!" Yet whenever I had a brief moment of clarity, seeing their worn-out faces broke my heart. Leo rubbed his bloodshot eyes and let out a long sigh. "Sometimes I think... if it weren't for her, maybe you and I would still be together." My heart ached. He was talking to his ex-girlfriend. They had been deeply in love, but when my disease struck, the immense pressure tore them apart. All these years, he had never truly moved on. After a quiet moment, a faint, bitter smile appeared on Leo's face. "Forget it, I'm just venting. She's my mother. I can't abandon her." "Dad and I talked. He's putting in for early retirement so she won't be alone during the day." His words struck me like lightning. Arthur hadn't even reached retirement age yet! When my symptoms first appeared, he took me to the best specialists. The doctor recommended an expensive treatment to slow down the decline. Arthur paid for it without a second thought. Yet my illness worsened faster than anyone anticipated. All our savings vanished, and I never got better. Desperate, I rushed toward him. "Leo, don't let your dad retire! He loves teaching so much. He can't leave his school!" I threw my arms out to hug my boy, but my hands passed straight through him. A cold realization hit me. I was already dead. And I never even got to see my son get married. Leo hung up, glanced back at our building, and headed off to work. I followed behind him like a shadow, trailing him until nightfall when we returned home. Arthur was already back. The warm aroma of dinner drifted from the kitchen. Leo walked in, didn't see me, and called out, "Dad, where's Mom?" "Oh, probably sleeping. Her blanket looked tucked in. She must be exhausted." Leo walked over to my bedroom door. "Mom, time for dinner." "You walked so far today. You must be tired, right?" Getting no response, he stepped forward to pull back the duvet. He already had his hand on the corner when Arthur called out from the kitchen. "Leo! Let her rest. She's wiped out. I'll wake her later." Leo let go of the blanket. He never noticed that the bed beneath it was completely empty. He stepped back into the dining room. Arthur had already plated a warm portion for me. "We'll save this for when she wakes up. She wandered the streets for three days. Let her sleep." Arthur smiled softly. "I'll sleep on the couch tonight so my snoring doesn't wake her." "Dad, you take my bed. I'll take the couch," Leo insisted. "Don't argue with me. I have some code to finish tonight anyway. The living room is better for work." Seeing how considerate his son was, Arthur smiled with relief. After dinner, they each went to rest.

Chapter 2

I followed Arthur into his room. As he pulled off his shoes, I saw a large hole in the heel of his faded sock. My chest tightened with sorrow. Ever since I fell ill, Arthur poured every penny into my treatments. Wherever there was a glimmer of hope, he took me there. In these past five years, my health only declined, while he aged a decade. He was so exhausted that he fell asleep within five minutes of lying down. I gently hovered my phantom hand over his weathered face and sighed. We had been married for thirty years, and I had put him through so much misery. Just then, audio from a phone played outside the bedroom. Leo was scrolling through social media. "...Breaking news: At four o'clock this afternoon, a fatal hit-and-run occurred outside Maple Gardens. One unidentified female victim was killed instantly..." Panic surged through me. I rushed to the living room, but Leo casually swiped up to the next video. If he had paused for just one second, he would have recognized my coat in the thumbnail. Maybe it was for the best. At least they could have one last peaceful night of sleep. A few minutes later, Leo got up, poured a glass of warm water, grabbed my prescription pills, and walked into my room. "Mom, time for your meds." I stood beside him, instinctively reaching out, only to pull my hand back. I was gone. Seeing no movement under the blanket, Leo set the pills and the glass on the nightstand. "Fine. Take them when you wake up." Getting no reply, frustration flickered across his face, but he quietly shut the door anyway. I knew him. He was too proud to apologize out loud for what he said earlier, but bringing my medicine was his way of saying he was sorry. Later that night, I watched him hunched over his laptop, writing lines of complex code under the dim lamp. He was so young, yet silver strands were already creeping into his hair—all worn down by my illness. Maybe it really was better that I was gone. Early the next morning, Arthur got up to make breakfast. Leo woke up and peeked into my room. Seeing the water glass untouched, he sighed with annoyance. He tapped on the door. "Mom, breakfast is ready!" "Come on, Mom. It's my day off. Let's go for a walk outside." Still, only silence answered him. Losing his patience, Leo snapped, "Mom, seriously, stop throwing a tantrum! Get up and eat!" He yanked the blanket off! His face drained of all color. "Dad! Get in here! Mom's gone!" Arthur dropped what he was doing and hurried over. "What do you mean she's gone?" "She's not in bed!" Arthur touched the sheets. The mattress was ice-cold. The two men stared at each other in sheer terror. "When did she leave?" Arthur's voice cracked. "I don't know!" Leo panicked. "We have to find her! How could she leave without us hearing? You slept in the living room all night—did you hear anything at all?" Leo completely lost his composure. "No! Let me check the indoor cameras!" To keep me safe, Leo had installed security cameras in the apartment. But when he pulled up the footage from the night and early morning, the front door had never opened. He rewound further back, refusing to believe it. "Did you find it?" Arthur urged, trembling. "What time did she walk out?!" Leo's lips quivered as he scrolled back to the previous afternoon. On the screen, the moment Leo had slammed the door and left, I had quietly turned the doorknob and walked out into the street. I had never returned. Leo collapsed to the floor. "Mom... Mom left yesterday afternoon. She ran away again!"

Chapter 3

Leo slammed his fist into the floorboards. "Why?!" "Why did she run away again?! What did we do to make her keep running?!" "Stop crying and call the police!" Arthur grabbed him by the shoulder, hauling him up. The local precinct officers knew our family well. The moment they heard I had vanished right after being brought home, they immediately began pulling traffic camera footage. Meanwhile, Leo called the local volunteer search team. Captain Davis, who led the group, was also a familiar face. I had only been found twenty-four hours ago, and now I was missing again. Everyone was scrambling. Leo was practically shaking with guilt and frustration. "Why is she doing this to us?!" Arthur pulled him back. "Stop blaming her! She's sick! She doesn't know what she's doing. Let's just find her!" Leo grabbed his phone and frantically posted my photo and details all over Instagram, Facebook, and community message boards. Messages instantly poured in from friends and relatives: "What? She wandered off again?" "Why can't that old woman just stay put?" "Poor Leo... he can't even keep a relationship because of his mother." Every text felt like a slap in the face to Leo. Still, they had to keep looking. Leo spent hundreds of dollars printing fresh flyers, pasting them along every street corner. Neighbors and volunteers joined the search. Leo searched until his throat was raw, screaming my name. Arthur checked every place I used to frequent. Across from our complex was a small farmers' market where I loved to browse. Often, I would get confused there and forget the way back. Usually, that was where they found me. But this time, I wasn't there. Arthur showed my picture to vendor after vendor, receiving nothing but pitying shakes of the head. By noon, having skipped every meal, Arthur's body gave out. He collapsed on the sidewalk. A passerby rushed him to the hospital. When Leo got the call and ran into the emergency room, seeing his father hooked to monitors broke his last bit of strength. He slumped against the wall and sobbed. "Mom, why are you torturing us like this?!" "Why couldn't you just let us live?! Why do you have to drag us down with you?!" "I wish you were dead!" Smack! Arthur, struggling to sit up, slapped him hard across the face. "How dare you say that!" Arthur coughed violently, his eyes blazing. "Have you lost your damn mind, Leo?!" "She is sick! You might think she's a burden, but I never will! If you can't take it anymore, pack your bags and move out! I'll take care of her alone!" Leo broke down completely, burying his face in his hands. "Dad, I didn't mean it... I swear I didn't mean it! I don't want her gone..." Arthur's expression softened into deep sorrow. He reached out and stroked Leo's hair. "I know, son. I know it's exhausting. But when we were young, your mother suffered so much for me. During our poorest days, we barely had food for three days. She pawned the gold watch her own mother left her just to buy milk for you, and she never once complained." "You were only a baby then. We had nothing, but she gave you everything." "Now that she's sick, we can't turn our backs on her." Leo nodded through his tears. Just then, his phone vibrated violently. It was Officer Miller from the local station. Leo answered instantly. "Leo, we found your mother." A massive wave of relief washed over Leo's face. "Where is she? We'll come pick her up right now!" There was a heavy, suffocating silence on the other end. Finally, the officer's voice came through, quiet and strained. "She's at the county hospital morgue. We need you to come identify the body." The world seemed to stop. Leo's eyes widened in horror. "That's a lie! That's impossible!" "Yesterday at four in the afternoon, there was a hit-and-run outside Maple Gardens. The victim died instantly. We matched the traffic cams to when she left your complex, and facial recognition confirmed a match. Leo... I'm so sorry. You need to come down here." Leo froze. They were already at the county hospital. Seeing the look on his son's face, Arthur grabbed his arm. "Did they find her? What did they say?!" Leo turned around, his face drenched in silent tears. Arthur panicked. "Speak to me, Leo! What happened?!" "Dad... Mom was hit by a car." Arthur stumbled off the bed, crashing to his knees. "Where is she?! What room are they treating her in?!" "She's... she's in the morgue."

Chapter 4

The word hung in the sterile air, and Leo wailed like a broken child. Arthur froze completely. He shook his head in violent denial. "No. No, that can't be real!" "Dad... it was Officer Miller. You know him." Officer Miller had helped search for me countless times. He would never lie about this. Arthur didn't say another word. He tried to take a step, but his knees buckled. Leo caught him just in time. After a long silence, Arthur whispered in a hollow voice, "Take me to see your mother." His eyes were blood red as he clutched Leo's arm. Supporting each other, the two broken men walked down the cold corridor toward the basement morgue. It was my first time seeing my own deceased body. My face was pale, the bloodstains wiped clean, but the faint purple bruises remained. I lay there quietly under the fluorescent lights. The coroner spoke softly. "She had no pulse when the paramedics arrived. The driver was speeding under the influence; he's already in custody. Once you confirm her identity, please sign here." Leo staggered toward the metal table. Looking at my motionless face, he whispered, "Mom..." Arthur dragged himself forward. With a trembling hand, he reached out to touch my cold cheek. The moment his fingers grazed my skin, his eyes rolled back, and he collapsed. A nearby nurse caught him just in time. Leo was torn in half between his father and me, screaming in frantic panic. Soon, relatives arrived at the hospital. Some helped take care of Arthur, while others stepped in to help arrange my funeral. Arthur was stabilized, but he had suffered a mild stroke and remained unconscious. Outside the ICU, Leo sat on the floor, holding his head between his hands, weeping until he could barely breathe. "It's my fault... I shouldn't have said those things to her!" He remembered every cruel word he had shouted before storming out. That was why I had left. I had walked right into death because of him. Relatives tried to comfort him, telling him it was just a tragic accident, but the crushing guilt consumed him entirely. I hovered over him, wishing so badly I could gently pat his head. Just then, Officer Miller walked in holding an evidence bag. "Leo, these were your mother's personal effects found at the scene. See if anything is missing." Leo took the clear plastic bag. Inside was a small box of fresh honey sponge cakes. The moment he saw them, fresh sobs tore from his throat. Everyone in the room turned to look, their eyes welling with tears. "Leo, please... be strong." "Your mother wouldn't want to see you like this." "Even when she couldn't remember anything else, she still remembered to buy your favorite cakes..." Leo pulled out a piece of cake and shoved it into his mouth. He choked on his tears as he chewed. Just then, Arthur slowly opened his eyes from the hospital bed. Seeing the scene, his trembling fingers reached toward the plastic bag. Inside, beneath the cakes, was a small bag of sweet clementines.

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