Mom Finally Loved Me, But I had Forgotten Who She Was

The doctor's words echoed in my mind long after leaving the hospital.

"You're already showing signs of memory loss.

“With active treatment, you might live for another six months to a year. You should contact your family to discuss a treatment plan as soon as possible."

"And if I don't get the treatment?"

"Well…At most, you’ll have three months."

Just then, my phone rang, and a middle-aged woman's voice came through.

"Come home this weekend for Tara’s birthday party."

Her tone was cold as though she were making a routine announcement.

That was my mom, Margaret Salem.

Tara, whom she mentioned, was my late aunt's daughter.

My aunt had passed away when Tara was very young and so she had been taken in by my family.

Over the past 16 years, Tara and Mom had seemed more like mother and daughter than I had ever felt with her.

I didn't want to be an audience to their tear-jerking mother-daughter bond.

"I don't—"

Before I could finish, Mom’s voice blasted through the phone.

"Serena, if Tara hadn’t insisted that a family should stay whole, do you really think I’d want a troublemaker like you back?

"You’ve always been so stubborn. If it weren’t for you, your brother…Look come by or not, I don’t care either way.”

Then she hung up.

I stared at the black screen, my hand tightening around my medical report.

I suddenly felt grateful for my illness.

Brain cancer—

It not only allowed me to die as Mom wished, but it also gave me the chance to quickly forget everything from my past.

I still went home that weekend.

I had to retrieve something very important, something I feared I would forget completely in time.

By the time I arrived, Tara’s birthday party had ended an hour ago.

Yet the villa’s decorations from the party were still up—thousands of dollars worth of flowers, the finest orchestra…

Such a lavish, thoughtful affair.

She used to treat me the same way.

But I hadn't celebrated my birthday in eighteen years.

Because now that day was also the anniversary of Michael’s death.

Before I turned ten, I thought I might have been the happiest little princess in the world.

I had loving parents and my brother, Michael, who, though he would tease me from time to time, would always stand up for me when it mattered.

Our parents often told Michael, “Serena is your younger sister so you must always protect her."

We were a happy family of four.

On my tenth birthday, my parents promised to take me to the amusement park but just as we were about to leave, Tara, who was playing at our house, suddenly doubled over in pain.

My parents had no choice but to break their promise and take her to the hospital.

I was spoiled and used to getting my way, so I threw a tantrum, insisting that we still go to the park.

Michael was helpless in trying to talk me out of it so he reluctantly took me there.

Then the accident happened.

A group of men targeted us, planning to kidnap us and extort my parents.

I was small, frail, and unable to run fast.

Soon, they were catching up to me.

Michael could have escaped but chose to lead the thugs away to save me.

He died at the hands of the thugs.

When Mom returned and found out about Michael, she fainted.

When she woke up, her eyes were filled with hatred as she looked at me.

"Why did you have to go out? You killed your brother! Why didn’t you die instead?"

I flinched, turning to seek comfort and protection from my dad.

But the father who would have always picked me up and called me his little princess turned away and ignored my plea.

My world had collapsed.

Michael was dead, and the parents who had loved me were gone.

I became the source of all the misfortune and pain in the family.

I had tried to take my own life countless times, hoping to trade my life for his.

But every time, Michael’s last words echoed in my mind.

"You must live on, Serena. Stay strong and be happy. From now on, you are Mom and Dad’s only hope."

I survived, but my parents never saw me as anything more than the pain I had caused them.

Dad treated me like I didn’t exist, and Mom saw me as a curse.