"Oh no! Where has it disappeared?" Maddox shrieked as he plunged his hands inside his pockets, furiously looking for something. "Oh God! What do I do now?" he muttered with a deeply grieved look on his face.

"What happened little boy?" asked the door-keeper who has been watching the worried little boy for quite a while.

"I...I lost my student ID," Maddox mumbled. "I brought it with me to get access to the cancer ward. Now I can't find it," he went on as he rummaged through his little purse anxiously and gave a quick glance at his wristwatch - the wristwatch which was gifted to him by Miranda the day he turned ten, and that was three months ago.

As Maddox only had bitter memories about his seventh birthday, Miranda wanted to give him a sweet memory for his tenth one. The little boy still refused to celebrate his birthday but he happily accepted his mother's gift as he knew that she bought it for him with her hard earned money.

"Who are you going to visit in the cancer ward?" the man standing at the door asked.

"My...my mother," Maddox replied in a low voice. "Please Sir, allow me in. I need to meet her. I have not seen her for days. It's getting late. Please let me get inside even if it's just for a five little minutes."

Upon hearing the little guy's pathetic voice, the door-keeper's face softened and he asked, "but are you at least twelve?"

"I am twelve Sir! Just turned twelve," Maddox lied.

"Hmmm, what's your name? And birth date?" the man questioned doubtfully.

"Maddox. Maddox Howard."

"And your birth date?" the man repeated.

"12 July 19... 1988," the young boy replied confidently as he made a quick mental calculation to prove his age.

"Ok, noted. You can go inside. The female cancer ward is at the end of the corridor, to the left," the uniformed man instructed, gesturing with left his arm as his right one held the door leading to the corridor open.

Maddox's little acting helped him keep his promise which he made to himself the night before - that of visiting his mother no matter what. He may have pretended that his ID was lost but his feelings were genuine. He was yearning to see his mother.

Maddox hurried along the corridor, eager to see his beloved mother. He felt his heart beating faster as he laid his eyes on the panel indicating the room he was looking for. The bold white letters  written on a dark green background made his heart skip a beat - "CANCER WARD". He entered breathlessly, his eyes scanning the whole place. They were searching for one face. The face of that lady who meant so much to him. But, she was nowhere to be seen. Maddox turned around, looking at each single person in that room, but he could not find Miranda. His heart thumped louder in his rib cage as a feeling of suffocation engulfed his throat.

Maybe I have come to the wrong room. Mum must be in another room.

Just as he was about to leave, he heard a voice calling his name. A weird but familiar voice. He remained idle for a moment and listened carefully to make sure that he was not making up things in his mind. He then turned around but was disappointed as he did not find the person he was expecting to see. With his head bent down in grief, he moved towards the door to exit the room.

"Maddox!" the weak voice called once more.

Maddox was now sure that he was not mistaken. Someone had indeed called his name. He looked back into the room and his eyes fell on a person who was waving at him.

It was a woman. She was dressed in some pale blue clothes which looked like pyjamas. With only a few strands of hair left on her scalp, she was almost bald. Maddox stared at the woman's face, right into her almond-shaped eyes which were surrounded by dark circles. As her lips stretched into a huge smile, Maddox immediately recognised his mother, Miranda. Her smile was one that he would never fail to recognise although it was now adorning a face which barely resembled the former cheerful and lively face of his mother.

Maddox ran into Miranda's arms and broke down into tears. She hugged him back and she quickly wiped off the tear drop that was about to fall off her eyes. She could not allow herself to break down in front of her son. She could not add up to his pain.

"You can't imagine how happy I am to see you my baby! You just can't imagine baby!" Miranda murmured as she gave Maddox a quick kiss on his forehead.

"Mum, why is this happening? Why didn't you ever tell me that you are suffering?" he lamented.

"Don't cry my big boy!" she coaxed. "How could I tell you about something which I didn't know myself, honey?"

Miranda lifted her hands to dry Maddox's tears. As her trembling hands touched his cheeks, the little boy realised how weak his mother had become. He quickly grabbed her hands, holding them tight.

"Mum, are they taking good care of you here?" he asked with great concern.

"Yes, honey," she reassured him, her smile still stuck on her face.

"Then, why have you lost your hair? And... and your eyebrows, and... and all," his voice trembled.

"This is part of the treatment baby. You should not worry about it. It will grow again," she explained.

"You mean, they shaved your head?" the ten-year old boy asked innocently.

"No, no," Miranda chuckled. "They are administering a certain medicine to me which is very strong. It has to be strong for it to kill all the infected blood cells in my body. And, it is so strong that it causes the hair to fall off. But God willing, after the treatment everything will be back to normal."

"I will pray for you. I always pray for you, mum," Maddox hugged her again. "And I will come to see you every day now."

At that moment, Miranda's eyes widened as she was struck by a sudden realisation.

"Maddox! But how come you are here? They do not allow kids under twelve to enter this room. How could you get access?"

"Mum, I lied to the officer at the door, well, I had to. I told him I'm twelve and, and, and he believed me!" Maddox boasted.

"Baby! I told you one should never say a lie," Miranda reminded him.

"Yes momma. But a lie which is said for a good cause, with a good intention, is not a lie," he justified.

"What is it called then? If not a lie?"

"It is called a strategy," Maddox winked.

"So, you are learning big words I see," Miranda smiled. "But tell me, didn't they ask you for a proof of your age? A student ID card?"

"Before they could ask any such thing, I acted as if I just lost my ID," the little boy whispered.

"Cunning little boy!" Miranda said in a low but pleasant voice as she scratched her son's little nose teasingly. 

"And how did you manage to come to the hospital all alone?" Miranda asked, her voice tone changing to a highly worried one.

"I came by bus, mum. But, not all alone momma!" he exclaimed cheerfully.

"Uh? Not alone? Who was with you?" Miranda questioned.

"Hmmmmm there was the bus driver, and around errrrrr... forty other passenger," Maddox joked.

Miranda let out a little laugh which rejoiced little Maddox. He was glad seeing his mother laughing a little.

"You crazy little boy," she giggled. "You should not have come on your own baby."

"But who would bring me here, mum? Dad never makes any arrangement to bring me here," he complained in a grieved tone.

"And he doesn't even come himself," someone replied sharply from behind, making Maddox and Miranda turn around in astonishment. Miranda's eyes widened at the sight of that person standing beside her bed.