Dear mom, I'm sorry

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Mu'awiyah ibn Jahima reported: A man came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and he said, "O Messenger of Allah, I intend to join the expedition and I seek your advice."
The Prophet said:

"Do you have a mother?"

He said yes. The Prophet said:
"Stay with her, for Paradise is beneath her feet."

Source: 📕Sunan An-Nasa'i 3104,📚

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The calming night was abruptly shattered by a siren. From the rain-washed street behind comes an ambulance, pale under the streetlamps, blue lights blazing in time with the jagged noise. In a quick movement the paramedics had already channelled Aisha's body onto a stretcher and put her into the ambulance before her friends could even say anything. Helplessly, they watched Aisha being carried in as the van sped off to the hospital.

On the other side, Fatima has just finished performing her voluntary night prayer; after she finished making Dua to Allah to protect her daughter and son she slowly tiptoed to Adam's room and planted a soft kiss on his forehead before reciting into his hear the three last Dua of protection to Allah.

"I love you, Adam, sleep well." She muttered, yanking the blanket over his shoulders.

With that she turned off the lights and closed the door shut behind her when she received a late night phone call.

Who could be calling later in the night? She thought.

"Hello"? She said as soon as she picked up but was greeted with chokes of tears.

"Imaan"? She said recognizing her voice. "What's wrong"? She asked but received nothing but gaps of tears, holding her patience she urged. "Imaan, tell me what has happened! Why you're crying"?!

"It's Aisha ..."

" S-she's just got transmitted to the hospital .."

The phone fell off of her hand due to some shock. "Subhana'Allah, ya Allah, please not my daughter."

Fatima's POV

I stepped in the room as soon as the nurse opened the door. I thanked her with a warm and comforting smile as she gestured for me to sit down which I didn't refuse. It's been almost two weeks now that I've visited my daughter without sitting on a single chair because the hospital had been running out of chairs apparently.

She amiably helped me dragging the heavy wooden chair and placed it beside my daughter's bed. I sat, despite the fatigue, not taking my eyes-off of her. "If you need anything, you can just click on the button right here." She pointed out the little black box hanging on the old wall. I nodded rapidly at her, staring at her at some length before she shut the door up.

I turned to my sleeping daughter and looked at her pretty sleeping face. According to the doctors, her health condition was fine, she's just been pretty shaken up due to the accident but other than that everything was great ... they said. In order words, she is doing perfectly fine ... But yet they still can't exactly determine the reason why my daughter cannot wake up; she's been sleeping for some days now. She has to wake up now. She should wake up.

Every single day after Fajr prayer, I am heading to the hospital to look after her, in case she'd wake up. Sometimes I would pick up her favourite novel and read to her, hoping that she'd rouse from this interminable sleep, but I end up falling asleep. Even when I don't feel my feet anymore, I force myself to stay awake for her. Because I am sure that she could wake up any time and the last thing I want is not being present for my daughter when she'd be in need.

That's what a mother is here for.

I wiped her sweaty forehead and added another cover to keep her warm. Her skin was so fragile it ruptured on anything more than the softest of touches. The eyes, closed, moved randomly. Her hair was wispy over a scalp that shows signs of pressure sores; I brushed her dark-brown bangs from her face and rested her hand gently into mine.

I raised my voice softly and called out her name "Aisha, Aisha, Ibnati please make a move if you hear me."

I waited in vain, there's no reaction. But I didn't renounce and tried again. "Aisha, please wake up."

"It's your mother..."

After a short while, no reaction still. I repeated the same scenario, begging her to raise her arm or something but, nothing. Here again, in the silence, a lone tear traced down my cheek, and just like that, tears streamed from my deep dark eyes. I sniffed and wiped my tears away with the back of hand and tried to apply mild pressure to her temple.

Her hand moved feebly as if to swat me away but missing by many inches. She's still in there alright, not making a single move, just deaf and blind.

Drowned in my thoughts, I didn't hear footsteps coming secretly towards me. I was only aware of somebody's presence when my eyes lay on the Dr who took care of her. He dragged a chair next to me and planted himself in, a notebook in one hand and a cup of cappuccino in another.

"How are you holding up, ma'am"? He asked gently as he landed his eyes on me, handing the cup of hot cappuccino to me.

I hummed its agreeable scent, took a few sips, and responded briefly. "Not well," I paused and glanced over Aisha before turning back to the Dr. "I am in over my head. My feelings are so jumbled." I confided sadly. "I feel like she could wake up at any time but in the same time, it's a lost cause."

"Actually there's something I want to talk about, regarding your daughter." He said, laying his eyes on Aisha. "If you don't mind" He quickly adds.

I put the empty cup on the table with a frown. "I'm listening."

"For how long has she been smoking"? He asked unknowingly as I stared at him in disbelief, mouth agape.

"W-what? I-I d-didn't know she w-"

"We have discovered that one of her lung is seriously damaged due to high level of smoke." The doctor cut me off slighty.

I was dumbfounded by what he was saying.

He continued. "Your daughter has been into the coma for some days now and as days go by it is getting harder and harder to maintain her alive, so we've decided that ..." He paused and took a deep breath.

I asked in concern, heart into pieces. "What have you decided"?

He suspired lengthily and looked deep into my eyes. "I am sorry, Mrs Khan but we have to switch off the life support machine."