Chapter 24: Rainy Day Songs
That night, after an unforgettable day of laughter, screams, and chaos, Ami's room is filled with a warm sort of quiet.
Ami lounges on her bed, staring at the ceiling. Her hair's still a little wind-tangled from the rides.
Sneha is sprawled at the desk, doing her homework .
Soha is video-calling them from home, sitting cross-legged on her bed, painting her nails .
Ami: "Today was seriously something else. I don't think I'll ever forget it. And I don't think I'll ever forget you two."
Sneha: "Ugh, don't be dramatic. This is just the beginning. We've got way more tsunamis of fun ahead."
Soha: "Yeah. It feels really good… like, to finally have people. Besties."
Sneha: "Right? Also, did you see Dylan's face on the rollercoaster?"
Ami: [laughing] "He was yelling like a horse giving birth !!!"
Soha: "Okay,,, That's enough Dylan for today. I'm creatively fried. I need something inspiring. Anything."
Ami: "Like coffee? Or a new brain?"
Soha: "Nooo, I mean like---music. Some old school stuff. Something dramatic and poetic. Maybe something your mom used to listen to?"
Sneha: "Nah, I'm more into modern beats. Give me synths or give me silence."
Ami: [pausing, thoughtful] "Actually… yeah. My mom had this thing for soft rock, slow instrumentals… kinda dreamy stuff. I think I still have her CD collection in one of my drawers."
Soha: [eyes lighting up] "No way. You're saving my creative soul, Ami."
Ami: [smiling faintly] "I'll dig them up tonight. I'll bring whatever I find tomorrow."
Soha: "You're a legend. Actual legend."
Ami: [whispering to herself] "…She used to call those her rainy-day songs."
Sneha: [noticing] "Hey, are you okay? You seem a little off."
Soha: "Yeah, is something wrong?"
Ami: [quietly] "It's just… I miss her....My mother...."
Sneha: [softly] "Why? What happened to her?"
Soha: "Yeah, Ami… tell us."
Ami: [sitting up, slowly] "She was sick. I was five. She spent most of her time in the hospital bed. One day… she was just gone. I didn't understand it then. I just remember being confused. Angry. Sad."
[Silence falls for a moment.]
Sneha: "Ahh...."
Soha: "I'm so sorry, Ami…"
Ami: "I don't cry over it anymore. It's been so long. But… sometimes I feel like she's still around. Like she's watching from somewhere far away."
Sneha: "No matter what, you've got us now. We're not going anywhere."
Soha: "Yeah. We'll always be here."
Ami: [wiping her eye casually] "Okay okay, enough mush. I'm getting sleepy."
Sneha: "No crying when I'm not there to smack you gently, alright?"
Ami: [half-laughing] "Do I look that weak?"
Soha: "Still… be kind to yourself."
Ami: "I'll be fine. Night, idiots."
Soha: "Good night and take care."
Sneha: "Nighty night."
That night, the room is quiet again. The walls are dark and the only light is the soft glow from the little night lamp.
Ami slips off her bed and kneels beside the old wooden drawer in the corner.
She pulls it open.
Dust and a faint smell of lavender and paper . She digs through the old CDs with faded lebels-titles written in cursive by her mom.
Then her fingers stop.
Underneath one of the CD cases is a folded letter.
Ami frowns.
Ami (thoughts): "Who keeps a letter inside a CD box? This is ancient."
She sits back and carefully unfolds the paper.
It's yellowed at the edges. Fragile.
She begins to read.
The Letter
"If you're reading this, Ami… it means they've won.
My little star,
If you're reading this, I'm no longer there to hold your hand, to kiss your forehead goodnight, or to braid your hair in the morning. I hope life has given you enough sunshine to grow and enough shade to rest.
I've been sick for a while now. But it wasn't just an illness. It felt like something darker, deeper.
My body would betray me in ways no doctor could explain.
Some people smile with knives in their hands. Some serve kindness only when it benefits them. And some... some poison you slowly while calling you family.
I fell in love with your father first. He asked for my hand in marriage, and I said yes. I was young. In love. Foolish.
But little did I know... he already had a wife and a son.
I was blinded by love --- the kind that makes you believe in forever too quickly.
I thought I had found my home in him.
But slowly, the truth crept in like a shadow.
He hadn't chosen me out of love --- he had chosen my name, my family, my wealth.
Ami, my daughter, I tried to overlook everything once I had you.
Because the moment I held you in my arms, I knew: you were the only real thing in my entire story.
You became my breath, my light -- my reason to survive. I tried to stay, for your sake. I told myself I could endure anything as long as you had stability.
I swallowed their insults, their cold stares, their fake smiles.
Said I had seduced your father.
And yet, I stayed silent. Not because they were right, but because I refused to let bitterness raise you. I tried to create a little pocket of peace for us -- even if it meant sacrificing my own comfort.
When I announced that my entire estate would go to you, they suddenly became sweet. Fake. They thought they could change my mind.
I let it go ---for your sake. For peace.
After a few days, I started feeling a strange kind of tiredness --- the kind that sleep couldn't fix.
At first, I thought it was just stress. Maybe motherhood, maybe too much worrying.
I told myself, "It'll pass. I just need rest."
But the days went by, and the tiredness didn't leave.
Soon, my hands and feet began to tingle… little pricks, like pins under the skin.
Then came the numbness -- quiet, creeping, terrifying.
And then… my hair.
Strands at first. Then clumps.
On my pillow. On the brush. In the shower.
Every time I touched my head, I felt less like myself.
I went to the doctor.
He said it might be a vitamin deficiency. Maybe nerve weakness.
He smiled politely, wrote some prescriptions, and told me not to worry.
But my reflection was changing. My skin grew pale. My eyes looked lost.
I couldn't sleep. And when I did, I woke up with my heart racing, chest tight.
My hands began to tremble --- small at first. Then so badly that I could barely hold a spoon.
But I never showed you, Ami.
Whenever you walked into the room, I hid the tremors behind blankets.
I smiled through the ache, because I didn't want you to look at your mama with fear in your eyes.
I wanted you to feel safe --- not scared.
Eventually, I stopped getting out of bed.
Not because I didn't want to---but because I couldn't.
The more time passed, the more my body betrayed me.
Blurred vision, dizziness, the kind of weakness that wraps around your bones.
Then, one day… I collapsed.
I still remember your tiny hands shaking me, your voice calling "Mama! Mama!"
And then everything went dark.
That's how I ended up here --in this cold hospital bed.
One night,I heard her. I heard her say it ,that she was putting something in my food. Thallium. It was poisoning me bit by bit.
Before i could do anything, it was too late.
So I'm writing this letter --- just in case I don't make it.
Don't trust the hands that fed me.
I've hidden this letter with my music, my rainy-day songs --- because I know you'd find them one day.
I've already signed everything in your name. In the event of my untimely death, my daughter, Ami, shall become the sole owner of my estate once she turns 20. Until then, it's locked safely in legal trust. No one can touch it.
I gave the lawyer's contact inside this same drawer ---when the time comes, find it.
Say your mother did at least one thing right, hmm?
Oh Ami... my baby....
Your smile is my sunshine.
Even now, I am seeing you running around, calling 'Mommy! Mommy!'
I'm still lying in this cold, quiet room... hoping for a miracle.
Hoping that tomorrow, maybe, I'll wake up feeling like myself again --- strong enough to hold you, to laugh with you, to braid your hair like I promised.
But each day feels heavier than the last.
My body is here, but it's as if the light is slowly dimming inside me.
I try to smile when you walk in, I try to hum your favorite lullaby.
🎶 Sleep, my baby, the night is near,
Mama's voice is always here.
Close your eyes and dream so deep,
I'll be near you while you sleep.
Even if the skies grow grey,
Even if I drift away,
Know my love will never fade,
It's in your smile, the light you made.
Sleep, my moon, and don't you cry,
I'll kiss your fears and hush the sky.
If the world forgets your name,
I'll still whisper it just the same. 🎶
But behind my eyes, I'm counting the days…
Not in fear, but in silent acceptance.
Not because I want to leave -- oh, never --but because life, it seems, is folding me away… piece by piece.
And yet even in this stillness, even in this helplessness... my love for you burns like fire.
If I could just hold you one more time... cuddle you tighter... I would.
My love, my laughter, my everything ---it all belonged to you.
And if you ever wonder who truly loved you, look for those who never asked anything from you in return.
No matter where I am, my love lives inside your heartbeat.
~Mama"