One breath closer

"

Would you still do the same thing as you are doing now?" she asked me. I looked up at her and gave her a slight smile. "Of course I would. I'm doing it now already, aren't I?" I replied. "What do you mean?" She asked, as she began to look confused. "With every breath I take, I am one breath closer to death. It has always been this way. Since birth. For me as well as you or anyone else. You don't need for anyone to tell you that death is imminent. It simply is. Having to live with a fatal disease doesn't change that. Show me where the exact expiration date is on your body. Have you found it yet?" Her face looked even more puzzled. For a moment she looked as if she was going to search herself for a stamp, an inscription, anything, that would give her that knowledge. I threw my head back in laughter. "You'll be alright without knowing, mama." I said "You don't have to know. Once you live your life being what you love, it doesn't matter anymore." Now her face almost contorted into a question mark. If she only knew how comically she looked, she might have understood my amusement at such a heavy question. "I thought we are supposed to be 'doing' what we love. What the hell does that even mean, be what you love?" I looked up at her again, this time grinning face to face. "Be that what you wish the most, mama. Be loving. Be kind. Be generous. Be gentle. Be forgiving. When you are being those things your soul yearns for the most, she doesn't care what you are doing or where you are. So yes, if I was told today that I was dying, because I was given a diagnosis by a doctor, I would still do the same thing. To hear someone else say that I am dying holds no power over my existence." She looked dumbfounded. I smiled at her and simply said "I love you, mama." Her face slowly returned to its normal appearance. "I love you, too." She slowly replied, as if she had to think it over. I stood up from my chair, kissed her softly on the cheek and said "I gotta go, mama. I have more breaths to live." I winked at her sheepishly and left her still mulling over that it was always up to her to allow her soul to be. ~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~• a beautiful milieu Image Autoral https://www.instagram.com/dreamer_portrait/