"Maddox, I got to go out again. My boss is waiting for me in the car," said Mr Howard as he disconnected the phone call.

The red car in which Mr Howard came belonged to his boss. It was the car in which Mr Howard worked as a part-time driver. Maddox could not recognise the car as Mr Howard has never brought it home before.

"But dad, it's raining. The weather is not good at all," complained little Maddox.

"It's important, I have to go," retorted Mr Howard. "I came home to leave this with you," he said, handing a paper bag to the little boy.

Mr Howard headed to the front door and left without even giving another glance to Maddox. He did not even bother to wish the little boy good night.

Mum would never leave me alone like this. To her, nothing was more important than me.

Maddox dreaded the idea of spending this stormy night all alone. He knew that his father would not come back until the next day.

A cheesy smell was emerging from the little white bag which Maddox was holding. The little boy opened it to see some sandwich with cheese and lettuce. Suddenly he remembered that he has been hungry for so long. But he was too afraid to realise it.

As he bit into the sandwich whose taste was not as good as its smell, he reminisced about the aroma and flavour which would accompany each of the dishes prepared by his mother. How he missed the delicacies prepared by Miranda! It has been so long since he has not had any food prepared by her. For the past month, he has only been eating food bought from outside by Mr Howard, or some instant noodles he would make himself or he would just go to bed with an empty stomach.

I hope mum has eaten something.

Maddox did not feel like eating the sandwich but then he recalled how Miranda would always tell him, "I feel full when I see you eat, honey!" So, he ate it up thinking that Miranda would be pleased to see him eat.

As he gulped down the sandwich, he walked to the kitchen sink and opened the tap. Fresh water gushed down and he cupped him hands underneath to drink from it. He knew that his mum would never allow him to do so had she been present. She would always get angry when Maddox would drink tap water as it could be bad for health. But this time, the poor little guy had no other option. There was nothing other than the unfiltered tap water for him to quench his thirst with.

"Ah! Luckily the storm has calmed down," Maddox said to himself while looking through the kitchen window. "I'm sure Mum must have made a special prayer for me so that I'm not afraid."

Miranda always had the right words to say at the right time. She knew how to make her son feel strong. She knew how to chase away each of his fears.

In fact, Maddox has always been afraid of so many little things. He was afraid of thunderstorms, he feared heights, he hated spiders and he was even scared of exams. Each time he had exams at school, he would fake being ill. Miranda knew that her son was pretending and she would coax him in the most beautiful ways.

"Ok mum, I will go and face those exams and defeat them," he would say with a grin. "But please mama, you come with me!"

"Of course, I will drop you to school," Miranda would reply cheerfully.

"Noooo mama! I want you to come inside the classroom and sit beside me in exams," Maddox would insist.

"This is not possible baby. Your other friends don't bring their mums with them in class you see?" Miranda would explain, suppressing her laughter. Her son's innocence would at times make her laugh, and at times make her cry.

"But I need you by my side. I need you with me so that I win!" Maddox would say.

Miranda would then reassure him with such words which have been forever engraved in Maddox's heart. "When my hands can't reach you, my prayers will."

That night, Maddox felt lonely but he knew his mother's prayers were somewhere around him. Yet, he missed her horribly. He so wanted to see her. But Mr Howard would not bring him to the hospital as kids under twelve were not allowed to enter the cancer ward.

Maddox decided to go to sleep with the hope of seeing his beloved mother soon.

He was lying on bed, his eyes glued to the ceiling when it came to his mind that he forgot to lock the front door. He got out of bed and went to lock it. While walking to the door, another memory of his mother struck him.

One night, Miranda was lying beside Maddox, reading out a story to him. At some point, she exclaimed, "Oh no, I forgot to lock the front door!"

When she was getting up to lock it, Maddox stopped her and said "No mum, let it be. Don't go. Stay right here."

"What if a thief barges in? Uh?" Miranda smiled.

"There is nothing to steal in our home sweet home mama," Maddox chuckled.

"You are wrong, baby. There is something so precious which I definitely have to protect," she stated in an amused tone.

"And what is it?" Maddox asked to clear his ignorance.

"You baby, you," said Miranda as she gave a quick hug to Maddox before rushing to lock the front door.

Recalling such moments brought tears to Maddox's eyes. He hugged his pillow in search of comfort. He was surrounded by darkness and engulfed by a feeling of emptiness.

Mum, no matter what, I will definitely come to see you tomorrow. I will come to you, whatever it costs me.

And with these thoughts in his mind, he fell asleep. He did not know that his next night would be a sleepless one. He did not know that what would be left to his heart would only be a thousand memories.