Beth was expecting her third child when her husband fell ill. She took her in the hospital and the doctor admitted him in the emergency ward. Soon he had to undergo some tests and the report was not good. His condition was getting worse day by day instead of having treatments.
One afternoon, the doctor who was in charge of her husband's treatment called on her. She went to him and he told her that her husband would not live till the next morning. Beth was not ready to hear this neither to lose her husband soon.
She cried hard and could not believe this. She was broken and rushed to her husband. He could hardly speak then. Beth requested her beloved not to leave them. He had to go as there was no hope. He requested her to be strong. And at the end of the night he passed away.
Beth was alone with the two kids; one daughter and one son. And more importantly she was expecting another. She went to her mother and she suggested her to give the baby up for adoption when she gave birth. She showed the reason that she already had two kids and life wouldn't be easy for her.
Beth got angry with the cunning plan of her mother. She couldn't think how a mother could say to another mother. She replied her that she would never do that to her child and would never betray the upcoming baby. She added that she was not living her other kids too.
She went to home to her kids. She could understood that she had a hard life ahead of her. But she refused to give up and was ready to go through everything. She took a cleaning job in an office. It was not easier for her because she was pregnant and when she needed rest she was working full time.
When she returned home it would always be night. She cooked dinner for her kids very quickly and fed them. After this they went to sleep and Beth did this too. Before sleeping every night she would cry in loneliness and sadness. She hold their happy family photos and couldn't hold back her tears.
She had to forget everything in the morning. she had to pull herself together and go back to work. Several months went like this and it began a routine for her to get up, make breakfast, went to work, return, cook dinner and then crying a lot before sleeping.
One day she went to work as she used to do and she went into labor. She stopped working immediately as it hurt too much. The office staffs called in an ambulance and she was taken into the hospital very soon. She had got a beautiful son and looking at him she never regretted not giving up her children. Her elder kids were with her and she showed them their little brother. They were amazed with the cute little kids.
Few days later, she went back to her work. She got new spirit. And her dreams was to give her children everything. So, she wanted to work more shifts to earn more. She went to the manager and told him that she wanted to take another shift. He got astonished but let her take.
Doing her two shifts when she came home, her only wish was to spend time with her kids. But it had been always late and she always found that her children were sleeping. This is how she remained all alone in her life.
Beth never remarried. She wanted to stay faithful to her only husband until she was gone too. Every day she took a flower bouquet and went to his graveyard. She prayed for a while and told him everything what happened. It was her only companion in life.
When she got older, her back and legs started to hurt because of hard work she did in her life. Now her kids were all grown up and they were having jobs, graduation and family. They all were living far from her for who she had spend all of her life.
She needed urgent treatment but not one of her kids came to help her. She phoned all of them. The eldest son said that he was getting married soon and so he had no money to spare. The daughter said that her mom knew too that she herself needed money. And the latest son was one step forwarded. He said to her that those doctors were lying to her and she actually didn't need any treatment.
Every of her kids showed their true face. She told them that it was okay and she could do all on her own. She thought herself that maybe it was really not that serious. But one year later her condition got even worse. She was returning form groceries and suddenly couldn't move her legs and she fell down. The passer by came forward to help and she said that she couldn't feel her legs.
They send the old lady in the hospital. The three kids came to the hospital as the doctor called them. He told them that he previously informed them their mother needed treatment and asked why they didn't respond. He this time informed them that their mother would never be able to walk again. They became shocked and irritated thinking that now they would have to take care of an unable woman.
Beth were in the hospital for several days and her kids rarely visited her. Only a young nurse named Johnny would come to her in the evening to chat. He always brought a sunflower bouquet for her. He gave it to her and chat for a long time. It was the best moment in Beth's day.
When she returned home, her kids called in a meeting to decide who was going to take the unable mom. She soon could realized that her kids didn't need her. The eldest was forbade her to look at him because he was not taking her in. The daughter said that she had two kids and she couldn't take her in either. The latest son said that he had just graduated from college. He told them to let him hive for himself.
This made Beth felt she was a burden and started crying. Together the children decided that it would be better to send their mom to live in a nursing home. They said to her that there she would be taken care of. And they left.
At that evening she was crying alone in her small room. Suddenly she heard a familiar voice. It was the nurse, Johnny on the doorstep standing with a sunflower bouquet. She got astonished and asked him what he was doing there. He smiled and asked her if she had thought she would get rid of him so easily. He remined her that she had promised to teach him to knit.
She was soon taken to the nursing home and the guy kept visiting her. He visited her a few time a week for years. He even introduced her to his wife who was expecting a baby. The wife was very friendly and kind too like Johnny. Beth told her that she had heard many good things about her.
And when the old woman grew to frail, they took her in. They gave her a separated room in their house. So, she had lived out her final days with them. One day she asked them why they ere doing that for her. Johnny replied that no one deserved to be lonely in old age especially wonderful people like her.
The woman left the world surrounded by the people who loved her. She was buried beside her husband. Johnny and his family often came to there with a sunflower bouquet. While Beth's own children didn't care about her at all, the totally unfamiliar family became her best one to live a life.
The kids even didn't came to see the dead body of their mother. They only remembered her only when they got a notice from the court. They were shocked and the eldest one informed the others that that crazy old hag had left the house to a nurse and his wife. And they got angry with their dead mother.
Sometimes strangers become closer to us than our own family.
