*
There she was, sitting so casually that it looked too good to be true. My heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly just by the sight of her, and I had no idea when tears crept onto my face.
My mother was here, close enough that I could see her face and yet too far away for me to call out to her. Memories came flooding back, and I tried desperately to stop the tears even though it seemed futile. She looked exactly the same, and there was this numbing ache in my heart which made me want to go to her. I wanted to close the distance between us, and tell her how much I missed her. I wished I could call out to her, and I wanted to hug her and tell her how much I missed her.
“You can’t go to her,” Alyssa said. “Not yet, at least.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because you’re not ready. She
