Michelle

MICHELLE'S eyes enlarged when she saw a pile of paperworks over the desk. She massaged her temples, trying her best not to explode at any moment.

It had been two months since she got hired and they are giving her a hard time already. She couldn't even say no to Mrs. Stewart, the super strict owner of the Glow and Go Cosmetics, because she knew that the woman would never hesitate to fire her with just a snap of a finger.

Letting out a heavy sigh, she grabbed the papers and started on doing her job. She answered clients' queries and sorted incoming mails. Time seemed to fly so fast, and she didn't notice the time from the wall clock.

She almost nodded her head off but jerked awake, fighting the urges to sleep during the working hours. A few minutes later, she finished the last piece of paper and stretched her arms out while yawning.

Finally! The torture is done!

After placing the paperworks inside the brown folder and put it in Column D from the small locker beside her seat, she grabbed her bag and proceeded out of the building.

She looked upon the dark sky and emitted out a massive sigh, remembering why she entered the job as a clerk. It was tiring, but whenever the faces of her family registers inside her mind, she found the reason to pursue more.

She took out the car keys from her bag and went inside, starting the engine and driving away from the company afterward.

When she got home, she spotted her younger brother sitting over the rug while playing a video game.

She sat beside him and placed her arm around his shoulders. "Well, looks like it was worth buying that stuff anyway, Kevin." Her eyes scanned the living room then raised her eyebrow. "Where's mom?"

He glanced at her then back to the game. "Market."

She got her arm off him and gave a tiny nudge on his shoulder. "You're too focused on that game. You should have joined mom while I'm at work."

When he didn't respond, she shoved his shoulder once again that made him lose the game and gave her a frown-like his face turned into a destructive storm.

She waggled her eyebrows then laughed at his reaction. With that, he grabbed a throw pillow from the sofa beside him then chucked it to her.

She placed her arms out and palms forward while chuckling. "Hey! Stop it!"

It wasn't enough, so he grabbed the other pillow and tossed it to her, making him grin when she fell from her sitting position.

She stayed in that position while staring at the ceiling, taking in a deep sigh while calming herself. He sat beside her and stared up at the ceiling, too.

"I miss dad so much."

He turned his eyes at her and saw sadness in her brown eyes. It had been two years since their father died from a car accident, and it was the most depressing moment of their lives. So, moving on was a real hard choice for them.

He bit his lower lip then diverted his eyes on his lap. "Me too. He's a great father, and I won't ever forget how kind he was."

Silence ate the surroundings, but then it didn't take so long when the door opened and Martha came in with bags of groceries.

They both stood up and Kevin took them from her, marching inside the kitchen. Michelle, on the other hand, helped her to sit on the sofa and gave her a glass of water.

She took it. "Thank you, sweetie."

She beamed and rubbed her mother's back while she drank its content. Afterward, she started coughing in a harsh way with small droplets of blood pouring into the glass.

Furrowing her eyebrows, she grabbed it and took a better look. "Mom... Why are you coughing blood?"

Martha wrinkled her eyebrows as well and stared at it, making her eyes widen.

She plastered on a fake smile to calm her daughter, but Michelle gave her a worried look. She didn't want her children to stress themselves, especially, her daughter who was the breadwinner of their family.

"Don't you worry, sweetie. It's just blood." She masked her nervousness by smiling.

"Just blood? Mom, this is a serious matter! We need to go to the hosptal." She stood up and grabbed her mother's hand, but she took it back.

"I don't need to see the doctor, sweetheart. Besides, I can still do my chores! Stop on bothering yourse-"

Kevin entered in the living room with knitted eyebrows. "What's happening here?"

As Martha's eyes widened when she heard her son, her daughter turned her attention to him without removing her grip on her mother's hand.

"She was coughing blood, Kevin."

Martha shook her head. "I'm really okay!"

"How is that even okay, mom?! You're coughing blood and you'll shout to our faces that you're okay?!" Tears clouded her vision.

Kevin walked towards them, giving them a massive sigh. "Michelle, you will never solve this problem when you are yelling, too."

Martha thought that he was on her side, but she was wrong. He also gave her a stern look with straight lined lips.

"Mom, we're just concern about your health. We lost dad before, and we're both scared to lose you, too. I hope you understand."

She nodded and sighed. "I understand, son."

Michelle's threatening tears spilled out from her eyes and fell down to her cheeks, then she took her hand away from her mom.

She wiped her tears using the back of her hand then gave them a hug. After that, she pulled away and gave her mom a serious stare.

"We will go to the hospital tomorrow, okay?"

---

"Doc, can we see the result already?"

It had been days since they went to the hospital for her check-up, and now was the time for the result.

As they both sat in front of the doctor's desk, Kevin stood behind his mother while rubbing her back.

The doctor stared at the papers he was holding with a solemn feature. "Mrs. Wright, did you ever smoke before?"

Martha furrowed her eyebrows and shook her head. "Never in my entire life."

"Did you have a family member that has lung cancer?"

Michelle placed her palm in the air and gave him a stern look. "Wait, wait. Why are you asking those questions?"

The doctor sighed and removed his eyeglasses. "I'm sorry to say this, but Mrs. Wright has been suffering from lung cancer, stage two."

When they heard what the doctor said, the whole space became quiet. They were hoping that it was all a mere joke, that the doctor was just bluffing and will start on laughing at them. But it was the reality that they had to face.

"W-What? Stage two?" Michelle asked, trying to convince herself that it wasn't true.

The doctor emitted out another sigh. "I'm sorry, Ms. Wright."

"But.... she has never showed any sign of symptoms. So, how come she has lung cancer?" Kevin asked to him with threatening tears on his eyes.

"Lung cancer typically doesn't show signs or symptoms in its early stages. Your mom never smoked once, so she's either exposed to secondhand smoke or she inherited it from her family."

Michelle slumped her elbows over the desk while covering her face with her palms. Martha looked at her children, making her eyes to wet. She remembered the way their faces looked like when their father died, and now it was happening because of her.

She didn't want to be the cause of their sadness. Yesterday, she promised that she would never leave them, but it seemed like she would break their hope.

Everyone was so silent, when Michelle started on sobbing with her hands still covering her face. As her brother saw this, he instantly rubbed her back while sniffing.

The doctor grabbed the tissue and offered, "Take this, Ms. Wright. I'm so sorry for the bad news."

She removed her hands from her face then took it, wiping her wet cheeks and blowing her nose with it afterwards. "Thank you, doc."

He gave her a warm smile. "Just don't stop on praying, everything will be alright. I'll give you the medicines she have to take, but your mom should always eat fruits rich in vitamins and nutrients."

They all stood up and thanked him, then went back home with silence eating their surrounding.

As they sat on the sofa, they all started crying then hugged their mom-like what they would always do when they were kids.