The monotonous beeping and hum of machines kept me awake all night. The intense sterile smell stung my nose, air stale with the scent of sickness and death. Longing for company, I turned to stare at my reflection from the window. I don't even recognise myself anymore -wrinkled, fragile, almost skeletal.

Perhaps it is almost time. I led a good life. My regrets and sorrows, happiness and joy, all blended into a tapestry of quiet acceptance. Faces of my loved ones drifted peacefully across my mind like passing shadows, but one lingered on -my son. 

He was all grown up. A fine strapping young man. From his first cry when he entered the world, his first tears, his first heartbreak. To the shriek of exhilaration when he got accepted to his dream school, and now dream company, I remember. Everything. A mother never forgets.

Now, he was sent away to another city, working hard to build his new family. He no longer needed me.

But how I needed him.

Here I am, clinching on to my precious memories of him -my fading lifeboat to tide me through the agonizing arrival of death. But alas, I am cursed to be condemned in this mortal cage, shackled to this bed as his life moved on without me.

Sometimes, I wonder if he misses me. To be honest, even the briefest flicker of me in his thoughts, just a flash of image or memory, would send me soaring directly straight to cloud nine. It wouldn't matter how insignificant or random it was, the fact that he still remembers me, cares for me, was enough.

My mind drifts into a wild imagination of what he's doing. I know he must be busy. He's going to be a father soon. I wish it's a boy -so he can grow up to be just like his father, to be a legacy of what I've raised.

As I continued staring out of the window, my reflection morphed into an image of him. I know I was hallucinating, my hopes of him appearing just a figment of my imagination. But I knew it was impossible. At least not at this hour. Just to make things clear, it wasn't that he was unfilial. Initially, he did visit every two weeks, like clockwork that was the highlight of my day. Unfortunately, life has a way of pulling people in different directions. With his new job and expecting child, his priorities shifted, and I had to accept it.

The beeping from one of the numerous machines I was hooked to intensified. Mildly annoyed, I looked up. Unlike the familiar warm yellow hue I had grown so accustomed to, a soft blue glow replaced it. It encircled the round button, casting a delicate, almost hypnotic ring of light, akin to the rare sight of a blue moon hanging enchantingly in the night sky. Wrapping itself around the button like a halo, the cool sharp tones were a stark contrast to the warmth I expected. With the rapid rhythm of the intensifying beeps, coupled with the changing color, it was a sign that I was deteriorating.

My breath grew shallower. My chest felt heavier. This was it. I just knew it. 

The round blue glow intensified. I closed my eyes and accepted its embrace like how the twinkling stars yearned for the moon. 

I had led a good life. 

Out of the blue, a tall dark shadowy figure appeared in front of me. Cloaked in darkness, his cape was tattered and wispy. His hood was deep and shadowed, obscuring his facial features in a curtain of black. With elongated limbs hovering gracefully above the solid ground and a ghost-like almost translucent skin, I was confident he was no human. 

Before I could ask this dark mass who he was, a raspy croak creaked out "The time before one transcends to the beyond, where the unexpected becomes a reality."

Inside, my mind became a whirlwind of thoughts. I couldn't grapple with what was happening as the phrase gnawed at me. The unexpected becoming reality? What did it mean? Was I going to live? As the possibility of death loomed closer, I started praying. I prayed hard, desperation dripping from every whispered plea as my final prayers tightened like a knot in my chest. I didn't ask for much. Just more time. Just until next month. Until my son's birthday was over. 

The shadowy figure chuckled. "Praying doesn't change anything."

I ignored him. If I was going to die anyway, I see no harm in trying.

I clung onto his words as though they were my sole lifeline, like some sort of feverish dream. Every syllable echoed in my mind, contorting itself into a bridge of fragile hope that could crumble at any moment. Yet, I let it grow, building upon it like a bridge that gently carried me into the afterlife. But I wasn't ready to cross. Especially not after those words. His words had to mean something.

Suddenly, time seemed to stand still. 

A crash reverberated throughout the corridor. Then, the door wildly swung open. 

A disheveled man stumbled into view. His simple business shirt and pants clung tightly to his body, soaked with sweat that poured out from every pore. His face flushed and hair unkempt, eyes wide and darting with a mix of panic and exhaustion. 

Adrian. 

He arrived. 

I blinked twice. How was this even possible? It was almost three in the morning. Visiting hours were from eight in the morning to twelve in the afternoon. And why now? How could he have known?

I smiled as I looked longingly at him. 

"Mom..." he cried. "I came as soon as I could." Somehow, he knew I was about to go. 

But his mere presence filled me with a surge of strength. He was my beacon of hope breaking through the darkest night. I can't go now... I wanted to stay, to fully embrace this fleeting moment and savor this beautiful bond. I was determined to hold onto it with all I had left, for I felt alive - more alive than I had in this lifetime.

Nothing could have prepared me for what happened next. In the most tender voice that seemed to dance through the air like a gentle lullaby, he whispered. 

"I love you." 

Just three words, so simple yet profound, laced with sincerity and love so deep that it enveloped me like a blanket of warmth.

That was it. His last three words to me. The annoying buzz from the machines stopped. The ring which casted a soft blue ethereal glow turned off. I felt my spirit rising gently towards the hooded man.

"When the unexpected becomes a reality." the figure repeated. 

I choked back tears. "Couldn't I live just a while longer?" My voice trembled, thick with the weight of despair and longing. Just an arm's length away, my beautiful boy was sobbing relentlessly in front of my lifeless body, the sounds of his cries cutting through me like a hot knife with butter. My heart throbbed, the ache so deep it could tear me apart from inside. I couldn't bear to see him so hurt. "Just a little while." I begged.

 

"There is a limit to how brilliantly the twists and turns of life can unexpectedly transform into. But unfortunately, life too comes with a harsh dose of reality. This intricate balance of surprise and realism is one I cannot alter." he answered solemnly. 

With that, my once in a blue moon experience was over. 

As I continued following this dark figure up into the vast expanse of the glowing silver moonlit sky, each step was weightless, as though the world I once knew was loosening its grip on me. I reminisced on the life I led. Even though I could never see or hold my dear boy again, his words echoing in my mind were my best gift from him. To me, it was more than just words. It was a bridge between us, a connection that even death itself could not break.

Perhaps those words were more than I could ask for. Perhaps I could get another once in a blue moon experience. Perhaps in another lifetime.