The Devoted Gentleman (EDITING)

Chapter 23

Matteo jumped out of the airport with a racing heart, it had been a while since he came back to his hometown in Sicily and the reason for his return that time was one he wished had happened differently. After the sudden phone call that morning, he swiftly went to his phone and ordered a flight back home and left that day from Rome to Sicily.

He spared no time seeking for a taxi and drove off to his mother's house. During the ride he kept on staring out of the window with a worried expression, he could not help but feel anxious for his mother's safety. He knew that she would eventually have an accident of some sort considering how clumsy she was, but to fall of the stairs in the market was a completely different kind of accident. His mother was old, he was afraid her body might not hold up to the pain.

Once he arrived in his house, he tried knocking the door, in case someone was there to open it, but after a minute there was no response, he was starting to feel even more worried. Then one of his neighbor, a man in his thirties walked out of his house after hearing the knock to inform him his mother was already brought to the local hospital.

Thanking him, Matteo went straight to the hospital, asking the nurse of his mother's where about. She quickly went through the patient list and gave him the room number. Once again, he rushed over to the room and when he stood in front of the door, his heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest. He slowly opened the door and his mother in a room with two other patients, one was an elderly woman and the other one was a little girl, probably around six or seven years old, but they had them all separated by curtains. He walked over to his mother and saw her laying there, unconscious with her head wrapped in a medical bandage. She had ventilation machine and other life support devices attached to her fragile body. His heart was tight, and he was unsure of how to handle the situation.

One of his friend was in the room at the time, he was the one who called him to inform of his mother's accident. Turned out he had been keeping an eye on her at the hospital the whole time. Matteo walked over to him and asked him about her condition.

"Like I've told you, she fell down the stairs and hit her head, the doctor said she was losing so much blood, and we are not sure if she would survive this. They had tried to give her blood transfusion, but they only have limited supplies. The doctor was not sure if she would make it"

Matteo rushed over to his mother's side and took her hand in his, holding it tightly to give her an encouragement. Her brunette hair had long turned gray with age and all the physical fatigue she dealt with throughout her life. His mother was a beauty during her youth, of course, she was no model material, but she possessed that natural, country girl type of simplistic beauty. A charming woman who thought of nothing but raising her son well and made a living for her tiny family. Yet it seemed time had been cruel on her. It deprived her of the beauty she once had, leaving her skin all faded and wrinkly. Despite it, she was still a hard working woman till her old age, she was not smart when it came down to money, that he knew for sure, but she did her best for him. Although Matteo had never expressed his emotions verbally to her, the man loved his mother. He whispered how much he missed her and how he wanted to see her awake. How sorry he was that he had not visited her once since his departure to Rome and how he wanted to spend some more time with her again.

"Mama, please, wake up. I'm here" he held her hand tightly and suddenly, the line on the screen turned linear as the sound became an alarming high pitch. Matteo's eyes widened.

NO, NO, NO!!!

His friend called the doctor as Matteo held on tightly to her hand, tears started to pour from his eyes as he sobbed in fear. He kept on begging for his mother to hold on and be strong, but to no avail

By the time the doctor arrived, she had stopped breathing completely. Her pulse was no longer beating. Matteo was crying on her bedside as he witnessed his own mother's death, right after he had just arrived. It was almost as if she was waiting for him to arrive before she could peacefully move on, because at least she was surrounded by someone she loved on her last times on earth. It was all too real for him.