Flash Fiction: The Struggles Without A Mom

Flash Fiction is a very short story from 5-1500 words in a story.

            Best friends were like a blessing from Heaven. They would be our moms, dads and siblings as we left far away from our family. They would always be there for us especially during our hard times. 

            As I grew up, I met various kinds of people in my life. Knowing her made me knew how hard a life was without a mom. As her mother passed away, she was accountable to take care of her five siblings. She had to do everything by her own like preparing food, washing the clothes and taking care of his sick father after school session. During weekend, she worked at the market to earn extra money so that she could support the expenses of her family. 

            Being a “little mom” and a student at the same time taught her to always divide her time wisely in order to do house chores and school works. However, she was tough enough to face all the difficulties in her life. One day, she was very sad as her little brother refused to go to school. He became disobedient with his own father. As she was his oldest sister, she wanted the best for her brother. Looking at her thinking about her brother made me upset as she was only 17 years old. At this age, she needed to solve problems regarding her family matters. As her mother passed away, she went to her mother’s grave twice a week as she missed her so much. If her mother was here, she would be able to talk and share everything with her. 

            As examination was just around the corner, her life was getting harder. Her father needed more care and attention because his condition became worse than before. My best friend felt worried with his father’s condition. She could not focus on her studies. Since the day, she was absent and all teachers started to ask about her to me. She reminded me not to tell about her difficulties especially about taking care of her sick father to our teachers. However, I broke my promise as I wanted the best for her. She needed to come to school. She deserved to achieve a good result like other students. So, my teachers decided to visit her. 

            All of my teachers were crying as they felt miserable as my best friend herself had to do all the house chores. She was the only hope for the family to survive in their lives. She told the teacher, 

“Could I stop studying at school? I want to help my family. They need me to survive." 

“If mom was here, I thought she did not allow me to do so”, told her. 

After she talked about her mom, her eyes burst into tears. She missed her mom so much. Her mom always be there for her. Her mom’s death forced her to put the family first compared to studies. However, my teachers did not allow her to stop studying. Although, she had to take care of her family most of the time, they kept supporting her to study at home. Apart from that, they also provided learning materials for her. It helped her to learn like other students in school. For the sake of her mother, she was willing to struggle learning from home as she wanted to prove that she could be excellent like others. She wanted to make her mom proud of her. 

           As she was my best friend, she taught me to be grateful as my mother was still alive. She could comfort me when I had my bad days. Mother’s love cannot be replaced with other people’s love. Her charm, her love, her laughter made me felt of home. Being close to her reminded me to always appreciate my parents while they were still with me. I promised to myself as I would be an obedient daughter for both of them. For my best friend, I believed that you were the strongest girl that He has chosen to face all of this at your early age. Although we were far away from each other, always bear in mind that I would always be there for you.