Lives On Forever

I didn't recognize the signs or else I would have been prepared for the eventuality. The forgetfulness, the loss in appetite, the blank look, and the occasional falls. All I attributed to the aging process. She was 84 and otherwise healthy, with no major illness. I was absolutely certain she would get to see her great-grandchildren. After all, she closely bonded with my daughters, her grandchildren, having brought them up since birth.  

My heart started breaking in pieces as her vital organs started failing one by one, all of a sudden. The doctor advised she had suffered some minor strokes but hadn't given up on her entirely. Neither did anyone of us. She was the pillar in our home and unthinkable that one day she would leave. Leave she did, without any warning, without as much as saying a goodbye.

Dealing with her loss was like living in a home without a roof. The grieving didn't stop for more than a decade since she passed. It continues even today, in small little things like on festivals, when having ice cream and chocolates, both her favorites and rossogollas which I gave up in memory of her. This grieving will never stop till I meet up with her one day. Ma lives on with my every breath!