The Last Embrace 183 Please Forgive Me!

Suzanne is alive! Jessy feels elated to see her alive.

"Emma, please stop crying," Suzanne said.

"I can't help it, seeing my mother again after how many years is breaking my heart into tiny pieces, the way she neglected my brother and I when we are growing up is something that I can't take lightly," Emma said.

"But you can't ignore your mother and let her sleep in the cold hard floor outside, she will get sick!"

"I want her to go home! I can't allow her to stay with us! Additional mouth to feed is something that we can not allow, the money I have in my saving is not enough for additional mouth to feed, we are both jobless and have babies to feed sooner or later the money will run out," Emma explained her fears.

"It's okay Emma, I will find work as soon as possible so that we can have additional income, you will take care of the babies and I will work for us. Just allow your mother to come inside and sleep here in the living room, please have mercy on your mother," Suzanne said.

"No! After my mother got addicted to alcohol and drugs and neglected us her children, I already have no compassion left for her, she was never a mother to us, she was a stranger!" Emma tried hard to stop the tears from falling but the emotion she felt today after seeing her mother is too much for her to bear.

"Can you just give her a chance to talk to you, give her time to explain why she is here, hear her reason first before you completely ignore her, you have to remember that she is the person that brought you into this world, without her you will never exist, just for the sake of the memories when you were still young before she succumbs to drugs and alcohol, she was a good mom, right? You told me once that you miss your loving mom before she becomes an alcoholic. Can you give your mom a chance? She has all intention to stay with you here and make up for her past mistakes, please forgive her, give her a chance," Suzanne was pleading for the woman's sake waiting outside the door.

Emma was shaking her head. "No! I can't accept her living with us, the pain is too much! She will never change!"

Suzanne sighed. "And what if she will change? How will you know if you will not give her a chance to prove to you that her intention is real? Allow her to live with us for at least one month, if she is not showing any change at all I will kick her out, myself. Common, try to talk to her, please," Suzanne was getting frustrated that Emma was not showing any pity to her mother. The mother arrived late that afternoon but her daughter was ignoring her presence and did not bother to talk to her until evening comes. She took the initiative to bring Emma's mother her meal for dinner into the veranda and she introduces herself to her mother-in-law as Anton's wife, she's glad she finally met her husband's mother, still, Emma refused to talk to her mother. She's getting tired convincing her.

Emma was adamant.

Suzanne looked at her sister-in-law in the eyes. "The night is getting colder outside, please I beg you, Emma, talk to your mother just once, just listen to her for a minute, don't let your emotion take over your judgment. Go into the veranda and talk to her..."

Emma was getting emotionally tired already, she doesn't want to talk to her mother but Suzanne won't stop pestering her unless she will go outside and face her mother...sighing...she rose to her feet and left the living room, she exited the door and steps into the veranda.

She saw her mother sitting on the cold floor.

"Why are you here, Mother?" she asked in a cold voice.

The woman opened her eyes and saw her daughter for the first time after a long time. "My daughter Emma! It's been a long time... I haven't seen you for ages, I miss you so much and your brother Aston!" she broke into painful sobs, she tried to get up to hug her daughter but she avoided her hug.

Emma released a deep sigh, her mother's face looks worse for wear, her eyes full of misery, due to many years of alcohol and drug usage she looks so thin and her skin was blotchy, sagging, she looks like she was dying and just one step towards her grave. Her mother used to be beautiful, but that beauty was wasted the moment she immersed herself in alcohol and drugs.

Her mother was crying hard.

"Please forgive me for being a bad mother to you and your brother, Emma. I want to change for the better, I want to get away from alcohol and drugs, I want to change my miserable life! I don't like my previous life anymore! Please accept me and let me live with you here in your house, I can help you take care of my grandchildren while you guys work. I promised that I will be the children's devoted grandma. I will change for the better. All I need is a little help from you my child...I'm willing to change! Please help me, my daughter...I can't do it alone. Living with you here with the children is my best solution, I will be far from the influence of drugs and alcohol, I have a better chance of flushing those toxins out of my system. I want to change my life but nobody can help me, I need a reason to continue living I'm so lost," the woman said, her body was trembling hard wracked by intense emotions wanting to get out from the confinement of her heart, she let out a heart-wrenching cries as if the emotions she's been trying to lock away inside her heart were bursting out in the open.

Emma was also crying silently watching her mother's pathetic condition. She desperately wanted to believe that her mother is ready to change. She was afraid to hope but when her mother mentioned wanting to change her life... she detected the sincerity in her words and voice and it touches her heart deeply.

All her growing up years she has been praying to God that her parents will change their bad habits and began paying more attention to her and her brother, but her prayers failed in vain. But now that her prayers were finally heard...would she send her mother away without giving her a chance to change?

Maybe it's about time to forgive and forget.

Emma went to her mother's side and hugged her tightly. "Shhh...stop crying mother...I already have forgiven you and you can stay with us. You can live with us here...as long we help each other we will survive somehow."

"Thank you so much, daughter! I promised you I will not fail you this time. I'm now ready to change my life. I'm so fucking tired of my previous life. I can't take it anymore, I'm so guilty and feeling bad how I destroyed my life and my children's life. I'd been eaten with guilt and shame through the years. Then last week I saw the news about the arrest of your brother Aston...that's when I realized that I fucked up big time as a mother. That was the last straw, I decided to change for the better hoping it's not too late yet."

Chapter end