Ten Cents For My Mother's Life

Synopsis

My mother collapsed from a cerebral hemorrhage, lying in a pool of blood. I knelt outside the ICU, begging my husband, Sean, to transfer ten thousand for her emergency treatment. He sent me ten cents instead. The note read, [Enough for a bottle of water. Calm down.] I made over twenty calls and sent countless voice messages until my voice was hoarse. His only response was, "She's seventy. Even if you save her, she'll just be a vegetable. Why waste the money?" Because we missed the golden window for treatment, my mother passed away that very night. At the funeral, I cried until I fainted. Sean arrived late with his sister, Samara, clinging to his arm. He handed me a tissue and said, "Why are you crying? People who die cannot come back. I've told you so many times to prepare money in advance. Who's to blame now?" Samara's eyes were red as she said, "Don't blame my brother. He just transferred 15 thousand dollars to me yesterday for my new apartment. He really can't spare any more. You should understand. He treats me so well; he'll treat you well too." I stared at her, unable to believe it. 'On the day my mother needs ICU treatment, he has given his sister 15 thousand?' Sean cut me off impatiently, "Enough. She's dead. What's the point of making a scene?"Rage and grief twisted through me, my whole body trembling. My heart felt like it was being crushed by a fist. Years of heart disease finally erupted. Clutching my chest, I stumbled and collapsed to the ground. Samara screamed, "Oh my god, stop pretending already! Your acting is even better than Mom's." Through my blurred vision, I saw Sean pull out his phone. Not to call 911, but to scroll through his social media feed. "Good thing I didn't waste that thirty thousand," he said, and his voice drifted into my ears, the last thing I heard before I died silently in the funeral hall. When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the morning my mother first collapsed from the cerebral hemorrhage.