"Hi mom!" I greeted.

"Hi sweetie, are you alone today?"

I nodded, "They're all busy, their concert is approaching."

"I see. You know, there's something I have to discus with you."

I walked towards her, not knowing what she wanted to say.

She pointed at the chair next to her.

I sat down and she started to talk.

"A few days ago the doctor came to visit me..." she hesitated.

I grabbed her hand, "What's wrong?"

She sighed, "It's about your dad."

I felt my body tense up and looked at her, "I thought it would be better if you were here to help decide," I told her, "that's why I asked the doctor to wait."

She nodded, "It's hard, but I would like you to be here when I discus it."

"I understand, do you want to discus it today?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"Then I'll go look for him," I said as I stood up. I walked around, not sure where I could find the doctor and ended up at the desk counter. The receptionist told me she'd send him over as soon as he's available.

I went back, "He'll come as soon as possible."

Mom nodded.

We waited, both very nervous about what would come.

Finally the doctor entered the room.

"What is it you two wanted to talk about?" he asked.

"My dad," I answered when I noticed my mom had it hard, "Vincent Cole."

The doctor nodded, "First I'll explain a bit" he said.

Mom grabbed my hand and nodded.

The doctor took a deep breath and started.

"First I want you to know that brain death is irreversible. Someone who is brain dead has no evidence of brain function upon physical examination. We went through all the usual procedures to determine whether someone is brain dead. All tests retuned positive."

He paused for a minute, allowing us to understand the gravity of the situation and then continued.

"Even after brain death, the heart and respiration still continue and this causes a brain dead individual to not seem dead. Usually this makes it even harder for the family to choose what to do."

"What are our options?” mom asked.

"Well, there are three. You can keep the patient alive like we’re doing now but you should know that he will never wake up. Some people do this because it’s hard for them to say goodbye. It takes a lot of money and doesn’t result in anything. The second choice is to stop the machines and let him peacefully pass on. The third option could be seen as similar to the second… Patients who are diagnosed brain dead, are in perfect condition for organ donation."

Mom squeezed my hand.

I held her hand tightly when I asked, "What would you advise us to do."

The doctor hesitated a bit but then answered, "I think option three is the best one out of the three, of course this depends on how you see it but if you choose for organ donation there are many other lives that can be saved."

It was silent for a moment.

"I'll leave so you two can think," the doctor eventually said.

"Are you sure?" I asked her after we talked about it.

She nodded.

I stood up and went out to look for the doctor again. This time it wasn't hard to find him, he was sitting outside our door, I wonder how long he's been there. He looked up which made it possible for me to see his sad expression. When he saw me he smiled.

"You decided?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yes" I whispered.

He followed me into the room.

Mom looked up when I entered, her eyes where a bit teary but she blinked a few times to make her tears disappear.

I sat down on the bed next to her.

That's when she spoke with a steady, determine voice, answering the doctor's question before he could ask "We decided on the third choice."

The doctor was a bit surprised by her firm answer. He bowed to us, "Thank you."

"Are you alright?" Aron asked after I explained the situation.

I nodded but realized he couldn't see, "Yes" I said but it took me all my strength to keep the phone against my ear.

Tears welled up but I wiped them away, "Uhm, sorry, my mother is calling, I have to hang up."

"Okay, if you need a lift home just call me."

"Mmm, thank you."

After I heard him laying off, I felt the phone slip out of my hand. Tears flowed out of my eyes but I didn't care. I sank on the ground, buried my face in my hands and cried.

"Are you alright?" mom immediately asked after I entered the room again.

My face must be a complete mess because of the crying.

I weakly smiled, it must be even harder for her.

"Oh, sweety, come here," she said and spread her arms.

I walked towards her and accepted her hug. We stayed like that for a while but I eventually broke the hug first.

"I need to go home," I told her.

"You can't go like this," she told me.

I shrugged, "There's nothing I can do about it anyway.

"No no no, I won't allow it, you can't go to the boy you like when you're face is like this."

My cheeks heated up, "Mom! It's not-"

"Now where's the bag you brought me a few days ago?" she wondered, interrupting my complains.

I stood up and brought it to her. She searched for a while and eventually found what she was looking for.

She proudly showed it to me, "I've got some make-up use this" she commanded.

"But-"

"No buts, I know you don't usually wear it. You don't have to because you're already very pretty but once in a while it's necessary, like now."

I sighed and walked to the bathroom.

When I reappeared, mom was delighted, "Niina, you're gorgeous!!" she exclaimed.

I pouted, "I thought you said I was pretty without make-up?"

"Don't complain. Hurry up and run to your prince charming!"

"Mom-"

"Hurry!"

...

"Thank you!"