Mom, I have to talk to you.

She held the baby in her arms

Stared into his angelic face

Convinced he was the most beautiful

Baby in the whole human race

She gently stroked the baby's face

He opened his big blue eyes

She felt her breath catch in her chest

Was he not the most beautiful baby alive?

She gently laid him on the bed

And knelt by him on the floor

Tickling him gently, watching him smile

Until she heard a voice outside her bedroom door

"Karen.

Karen, honey.

Time to get up."

She awoke from the dream, alone in bed

Felt the knife still by her side

Tossed it in her nightstand drawer

Lay back in her bed and cried

The dream had been so real

She felt around for her baby boy

In panic, terror and confusion

The tears kept welling in her eyes

"Karen, honey.

Are you alright?"

"I'm ok mom."

"Are you sure?

You sound like you've been crying."

How could one night of abandonment

Put her where she was now?

More alone than she ever felt in her life

Yet, not alone, somehow

She put her hands on her belly

And she could see her baby's eyes

Realized that had she done what she planned

She would not be the only one who died

"Karen. It's time for breakfast."

"Mom, I have to talk to you."

© November 26, 2012