Rain splashed against the old little house as occasional streaks of lightning brightened up the night sky, revealing the frightening shapes made by the clouds.

Maddox stood by the window in the dark living room, watching the droplets of water flowing down the glass panes. The deafening sound of rain crashing over the roof formed a rare kind of fear in his heart. In a flash, that growing fear turned into pain as thoughts of his mother overwhelmed him. Maddox missed her badly as she would always come and sleep in his room during such nights.

Maddox has always been afraid of thunderstorms, but, with his mum by his side, he would feel a kind of reassurance that no harm could befall him. His mother Miranda would lie down beside him and would remind him that nothing can happen if God does not want it to happen. She would ask the little boy to pray to God to eliminate his fear. The warmth in Miranda's voice would be so soothing that Maddox would forget his agitation and fall asleep despite the stormy night.

Mum, I miss you. Mum, come back, please...I'm afraid. I'm lonely without you.

Maddox could not hold his tears. He cried his soul out, kneeling down on the floor as he could no more stand on his feet. He was all alone at home and could not sleep. No words could describe his feelings. All he knew was that he was experiencing the same emotions which lingered in his chest while looking at Elisa lying on her deathbed.

Maddox shivered as a sudden roar of thunder added up to his fear. His heartbeats got louder and almost painful. Yet, he decided to get up and walk to his room for he knew that he did not have any other choice. He would have to spend the night alone. His mother would not be back.

Just as he stood up, he heard a faraway music coming from outside.

🎶Near, far, wherever you are... 🎶

Those lyrics, most of which went unheard, came out of nowhere and made him remember Miranda who used to hum that song very often while she was cooking or cleaning the house. It was one of her favourite songs. Maddox would always try to sing along with her, adding lyrics of his own as he did not know the right ones.

"You are ruining the song, honey!" Miranda would laugh at her son's lyrics which would make no sense.

As Maddox would sulk, Miranda would coax him, complimenting his singing skills while trying to sound real.

"Okay, I was joking. You are not ruining it. You are adding beauty to it," she would say, flattering the little boy. "You got such a beautiful voice and, and, and... your lyrics are so innovative!"

How I miss all these moments, Mum. How I wish you were here with me.

As the rain got noisier, Maddox could no more hear the song playing outside. He started singing himself, again making up his own lyrics, but this time, intentionally changing them to express his feelings.

"🎶Near, far, wherever you are, I believe that you live in my heart. Dear mum, no matter where you are, in my chest, you will live...eternally...🎶"

A bright light abruptly flashed across the window. But it was not lightning. It looked like a car's headlights. Maddox approached the window and peeped outside. Despite the blinding light, he could make out that a car was approaching his gate from the alley. As it came nearer, Maddox could hear the familiar music getting louder.

Maddox quickly dried his eyes with the back of his hands. He took a deep breath to prevent himself from shedding more tears as he got nostalgic over that song. Maddox kept looking through the blurred window panes, hoping to see who the driver was. The car engine went off but yet no one was climbing out. Probably because it was still raining heavily.

How he wish it was his beloved mother who would pop out of the car running towards him with her arms stretched out to warm him up into a hug on this cold scary night. But he knew that this would not be the case. He knew that it was just one more of his hopeless hopes.