"Who are you? Do I know you?" The aged woman turned to her. Most of the times, Jessica's mother was in a confused state. She was rarely conscious too. Although she didn't recognize Jessica, her condition was much better than how she usually was. Probably that was because she felt her daughter close to her. A mother could always feel her daughter.
"Jessica, it's Jessica! Mom, can't you recognize me? Come and touch me, it's me, Jessica!" Jessica reached out to hold her mother's hand and then pressed the old woman's hand on her face. The feeling of being unrecognized by her own mother overwhelmed her too much that her tears poured down her face.
"Jessica? No, you are not Jessica. You look different from my daughter. I'm not your mother. I'm afraid you are mistaken." Jessica's mother took a look at her with a pitiful expression. Then the old woman took her eyes off her and stared at the family portrait sitting on the bedside table. Her mother stopped reacting after that.
"Mom, I am your daughter! Take a closer look at me, please! I've just had surgery on my face. There is always something that won't change, right? Mom, please. Try it, try to recognize me," explained Jessica with a choking voice. She turned her mother around to face her and tried to wake her up in a hurry. Everything she did appeared to be in vain though as her mother remained blank and caught in her own world. It looked like she wasn't coming back soon no matter how hard Jessica tried. She wasn't responding to her at all! Not even a blink nor a look.
"Why? Mom, can't you recognize your daughter? Why? What happened to you?" Jessica was desperate. All hell broke loose inside her chest as she began to shake her mother violently. Nevertheless, her mother remained unconscious and sluggish. The old woman didn't even bat an eyelash as her daughter's action went crazier.
That was the scene that welcomed Coco when she came into the room with Jessica's mother's decoction. "What are you doing, Jessica? Let go of her," Coco shouted to stop Jessica. She put the decoction on a side table and then walked to her cousin to stop her from shaking her mother heavily. Did she just go insane to treat a patient like that?
"What happened to my mom, Coco? Why can't she even recognize me? She is not supposed to be this sick," Jessica choked. She let go of her mother and then turned to Coco. She grabbed her cousin by her shoulders and started shaking her instead.
Comments
The readers' comments on the novel: It'll Come Naturally