A Mother's Sword

“The soft beep of the heart monitor was the first sound I heard, cutting through the fog of impact, of screeching tires, and Michael' s small hand slipping from mine. I was in a hospital, a dull ache spreading through my entire body. Then the door opened, and Tiffany, the senator' s daughter, the one who was driving, stood there. "Oh, you're awake," she said, devoid of concern, as if my son, Michael, was an inconvenience. "My father has taken care of everything. The official report will say it was a tragic accident caused by poor road conditions." She even offered to pay my hospital bills. The world I knew, where right was right, crumbled. My son, my kind, innocent Michael, was just an "annoyance" to them. The police wouldn't help, the law wouldn't help. Despair was a suffocating blanket, threatening to pull me under. They thought I was just a grieving, helpless widow to be bought off and intimidated. They thought my husband' s Medal of Honor, tucked away at home, was just a piece of metal. They thought his sacrifice meant nothing. But as Tiffany walked out, a cold, hard purpose crystallized within me hotter than any rage. My tears stopped. I looked at my steady hands. The woman who had been rushed into that hospital was gone. I was checking out.”