37
Sienna
I follow Neil into my mother's room.
The first thing that hits me is that sharp smell of antiseptic and, below that, the strong, sweet smell of something I can't quite identify.
It's cool in here, the air conditioning turned up high enough to beat even the extreme heat outside.
The room is large with high ceilings. A bookcase covers one wall. In the middle of the room is a four-poster bed, the old-fashioned kind, and in the center of it, a figure ... At least, I think the slight bump in the middle is my mother.
"She's awake, but still groggy from yesterday's chemo session," Neil explains, but I barely hear him.
He walks toward the bed, before leaning over the figure. Turning, he beckons me over.
My sneakers make soft shuffling noises as I walk across the floor. I stop by
