A Mother's Sacrifice

Sarah lay on the bed as her mother knelt beside her. The girl had been running a dreadful fever for days, her body wracked with pain with each rattling cough. Her mother, Anna, tearfully stroked her hair, humming a lullaby and praying that little Sarah would finally sleep. 

Sarah coughed again, her tiny body shaking with the effort. "Momma, please don't cry," she pleaded, her hoarse voice barely rising above a whisper.

"Sweetheart, mommy's just sad you're sick." Anna stroked Sarah's damp curls, struggling pointlessly to hide her tears.

"I'm sorry I made you sad, momma." Sarah's voice broke with remorse, and Anna's heart lurched painfully.

"Precious, you did nothing wrong!" Anna said firmly. "Sometimes, things happen that we can't control. Even mommy gets sick sometimes." Anna smiled wetly, trying to show Sarah that she wasn't angry, and that her daughter wasn't to blame for her tears.

After a long moment, Sarah whispered, "Is it time to sleep, mommy?" Her mother had told her to rest so that she could heal, but it was so much harder when the coughing fits stole her breath!

"Yes, baby. You need to rest. I'll get your medicine, and you can sleep." Anna grasped the bottle tightly in her hand, her fingers closing over the label, and dripped three drops of the clear liquid from the bottle into her daughter's sippy cup. *That should be enough,* she thought. *Now, Sarah can rest in peace.*

"Drink your medicine, sweetheart." Anna admonished, handing her little girl the cup. 

Sarah drank from the cup, feeling the waves of drowsiness wash over her. Winding tendrils of sleep, like soft fingers caressing her mind, had her drifting off before her head even came to rest on the pillow.

"Goodnight, momma," she slurred, already half-asleep.

"Goodnight, my dear." Anna crooned, softly kissing Sarah on the forehead as she rose from her knees. 

Anna turned at the doorway, watching as her little girl's chest rose and fell, her eyes gently closed, her face so serene. It was for the best, she knew, but it still broke Anna's heart to see her child so helpless. So vulnerable.

"I love you. Even if you don't always understand why I do these things. Everything I've done was to keep you safe. I'm sorry it's come to this, but I have no other choice." Anna's eyes shone with tears as she turned away, leaving her precious baby girl behind, fast asleep.