Sitting up, heart thumping, I can’t help the smile from blooming on my lips, much like my mother’s precious garden. Memories of her trickle back in, wrapping me in a warm hug, a familiar smile, a comfort I have unknowingly missed for a very long time. Tears swell against my eyelids, a burning sense of loss mingling with the sweet memories. Chasing butterflies, baking cookies, gardening, making crafts with Sydney at the kitchen table, watching Winnie the Pooh on that same living room sofa. Bedtime stories, tickle fights, board games, underdogs on the playground swings. Holidays and bonfires.
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