Surrender 01 - Surrender

young to remember him, and it had been her mom and her ever since. She couldn’t survive without the woman who’d raised her — or at least she wouldn’t want to. Whom would she share her triumphs with, and who would hold her when her heart was broken?
    “I’m right here, Mom .” Ari scooted her chair next to her mother’s bed and gently clasped her hand.
    “I’m glad, baby. I’m sure I’ve put you through too much worrying already . If I know you, and of course I do, then you’ve been chewing off your nails and stressing out since the accident. It’s my job to take care of you, and I haven’t been doing that these last six months.”
    “Mom, it’s my turn to worry about you, not the other way around. I know you told me not to, but I can’t help it. If I hadn’t gone to that stupid party and then called you up in the middle of the night, you never would have been hurt. I know you told me to quit stressing about it, but it’s still eating me alive. I can’t say enough how sorry I am,” she sobbed as she leaned her head down and placed it on their joined hands.
    “Arianna Harlow, do you know how upset I’d be with you if you hadn’t called me? I’m your mother, and it’s my job to protect you, watch out for you and ensure your safety. You may be twenty-three now, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t still my little girl. Don’t you know that I would die for you ? There’s nothing a mother won’t do for her child.”
    “But I screwed up,” Ari sobbed.
    “Ah, sweetheart, you’ve been a perfect child from the moment you came home in my arms. You rarely cried, were respectful, worked hard in school, and were always the dream child. You were living your life, growing up a bit. Don’t let this one small detour end with a roadblock. Must I keep telling you, darling, to live your life to the fullest and achieve your dreams, no matter what happens to me?”
    “I don’t know how to do anything without you,” Ari insisted.
    “Yes you do. I know this because I’m the one who raised you, and I raised you to be independent and to succeed in whatever you set out to achieve. You can and will do anything your heart desires. If something does happen to me, I forbid you to mourn me for too long. That would break my heart into a million pieces. Even if I’m taken from this world a little too soon, I’ll always be with you, watching out for you. Just promise me that you won’t give up and settle for less. Live life to the fullest, not at half measure like so many people do!”
    Ari looked at her mother’s pale face, not knowing how to respond. She couldn’t promise her mother that she’d continue living — she couldn’t make it without her. It was the first time Ari ever remembered her mom asking something of her that she couldn’t do.
    “I’m serious, Arianna. I want you to live your life for you. Enough of this guilt. Enough of this sadness. Let’s talk about something happy.” Ari’s mother brightened as she asked, “How is graduate school going?”
    Ari’s sense of guilt nearly consumed her. She didn’t want to tell her mother how dire their circumstances were. What if the news sent her back into the coma? On the other hand, she couldn’t lie.
    “I took some time off school. You know I can’t graduate without you sitting in the front row cheering me on. It wouldn’t be the same.”
    “Oh, baby. I’m so sorry. Well, I’m awake now, and I’m just fine, no matter what those doctors say. You go back to school and enroll. You’re not a quitter, and I already had the frame picked out for your graduation photo. I’m so very proud of all you’ve achieved.”
    “Oh, Mom,” Ari cried as she climbed up into the bed next to her. And her mother, though still weak, lifted her arm and began stroking Ari’s hair as she’d always done when things looked bad. Somehow it made everything better.
    Here I go again , Ari sighed to herself. After all my fine words, I’m leaning on Mom, as usual, and not vice versa. But she didn’t care. At this moment, she needed to be comforted. But she promised herself that in just a few minutes she’d find her inner strength and help her mom get through her terrible illness.
    Being in her mother’s arms was giving her what she needed to carry on over the upcoming weeks or months. She said a silent prayer as the two of them lay there silently together.

    *****

    The next afternoon, Ari came through her front door and saw the flashing light on her