Angie pushed the pram of her daughter , Kim, and strolled along the soft golden sands of the beach. Kim reached out to her mother.

"Mummy, why are all these terrible things happening to me? Am I really going to ... d-die?" the young girl had tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Kim, darling," Angie held back her tears," God wants you in heaven." she pointed to a few seagulls in the sky."You'll be like them, soaring in the sky, alongside God, being the prettiest angel."

"But Mummy, don't you want me to be here too?" 

Angie sighed. She did not want her 7-year-old daughter, Kim to be cruelly taken away from her as yet another victim of leukemia. She wanted otherwise.

She wanted to hold Kim and protect her from all the sins in the world. She wanted to see the moment Kim realize the world was more than just sitting on her Daddy's lap. She wanted to see Kim walk down the aisle to a new life, as beautiful as a rose. She wanted to see Kim's first baby open its eyes and cry.But Angie's hopes were dashed. 

 ~

That night, Angie tossed and turned in bed. Life seemed so cruel. For a mother with only a seven year old child to accompany her, her child became her life.

Many kilometers across town, Kim too tossed and turned in bed. Barely enough moonlight filtered into the green blinds. The walls were a light creamy beige. Will she die in this cold place? How about her last goodbye? Kim wanted to accompany her mother. 

~

"Kim!Rise and shine! Mummy's here...Kim?" Angie felt a lump in her throat. She went to Kim's bed. She wasn't breathing.

A tear rolled down Angie's cheeks, gleaming like a precious jewel in the sunlight. In Kim's hand was a piece of crumpled paper with four words and a drawing. The  drawing was one of a messy seagull. The four words were really special to Angie. Four words to say, 'I love you, Mummy."

A part of Angie's life was gone...and it could never be mended.