The hospital room was chaos. The patient lay in a coma and her mother was loudly declaring “I tried to tell her what those drugs would do, that she was killing herself but she wouldn’t listen”. Others were sobbing and muttering things like if only we could have made her realize and somebody should have stopped her somehow. Then the blame game started if only you would have told us earlier one of the women directed to her sister and the other replied I had no idea it had gotten so bad..
The mother started complaining to God. “Why did you give me such bad children? I have been so good. I don’t deserve to have to go through all this”
“Shut up” the words thundered through the room. It was the husband of the dying woman and you could see the fury on his face. “Don’t you self centered idiots realize that because of all of you she had given up on life and try as she might she could no longer face your lying faces? The hypocrisy that is your standard was the one thing that wound up destroying her. She knew she was killing herself but she chose to go out in a fog so that she could appear to be happy. She knew how bad the end would be but she determined to make it as livable until she con longer had control.”
The words stunned everyone. They were true. They all knew it but this was the first they had to openly face it and no one was exempt. Heads hung low.
Suddenly there was a stirring from the bed and her eyes fluttered open. She looked directly at her husband and he took her hand. She whispered but all could hear. “Thank you for being with me all these years and protecting me from them. I only regret that I have to leave you.” He leaned down and kissed her cheek and she was gone
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