Charlie got out of the school together with his friend, Mark. He had his backpack slung lazily over one shoulder and couldn’t wait to get home.

They had yet another test that week and he felt like he was getting exhausted from school.

“My mom is late again,” Charlie said.

“She’ll be here any minute, Charlie,” his friend said as he tapped him on the back.

“And what about your parents? I don’t see them anywhere,” Charlie commented.

That’s when Mark laughed and said they weren’t coming to pick him up since they got him a car for his birhday.

“A car? For your birthday? Mark, you are so lucky,” Charlie said, hoping he would be getting one any time soon.

As he and Mark chatted, Charlie heard the familiar clunk of his mom’s car.

“Hey, Charlie,” she yelled through the window.

Charlie threw his backpack on the back seat. He didn’t give his mom a kiss. What’s most, he didn’t even look her in the eyes, he just pressed his head to the door’s window and asked, “Can I have a car for my birthday? Mark’s parents got him one.”

“Oh, honey,” his mom said, “I have already got a gift for your birthday, but maybe I’ll be able to get you a car in a few years.”

“A few years? What the hell, mom,” Charlie argued. “By then all of my friends would be already driving, it’s not fair,” he said.

The rest of the way home was silent. Neither Charlie nor his mom said anything. She felt defeated by her inability to get him the gift he asked for, but she knew Charlie was a good boy. He was just acting the way he was because he was typical 15-year-old.

As they parked in the driveway, his mom told him dinner was in the oven. She needed to run some errands and promised to be back quickly.

Charlie grabbed his backpack and entered the house, not saying a single word.

He placed the backpack on the floor and went straight to him mom’s room, trying to figure out what she got him for his birthday.

Her computer was on, so he went through his email. It didn’t feel right. Charlie felt like he was crossing an invisible line, but he was curious so he read some of the messages. Most of them were work related, but then, an email confirming a delivery scheduled for his upcoming birthday caught his attention.

He opened it and realized that this delivery thing wasn’t a one time occasion. His mom planned 14 more deliveries, for this birthday and the next 14. The presents were stored at a storage. The address was in the message.

Feeling uneasy, he started looking around and found a tiny key under his mom’s papers. It had the same address so Charlie went to inspect it and learn the truth behind his mom’s strange decision.

When he opened the storage, he saw the gifts, all wrapped perfectly. Some were big, some so small they could fit in one hand.

On all of hose birthday gifts, there were notes written in his mom’s beautiful handwriting.

One of them read, “Dear son, if you are reading this, it means I’m no longer with you. I’ve been fighting cancer for some time and none of the treatments helped improve my condition. I didn’t want your birthdays to feel empty after I’m gone.”

Another note read, “Happy 17th birthday, Charlie. I hope you like this computer. Don’t forget to study and be a great student.”

Charlie’s little heart shattered into a million pieces. He was losing his mom and he was unaware of the little time he had with her.

Holding the notes in his hands, he started crying. The thought of losing his mom was defeating. He was crushed. His mom meant the world to him, not that stupid car he wanted.

After he returned, with his eyes red of crying, he spotted his mom on the couch, reading a book. She didn’t assume anything about the storm of emotions that had just swept over her son.

“What’s wrong, Charlie,” she said the moment she spotted him.

Charlie hugged her and started crying again.

“Mom, I know about the storage. I’ve seen the gifts,” he said with his voice breaking. “Mom, you should have told me. Isn’t there anything that we could do?”

“Oh, honey,” his mom whispered. “There isn’t. Doctors tried everything. My time is limited.”

The room went quiet. Only soft cries could be heard. This mother and son were wrapped in a fragile moment of connection, their tears speaking the words they could not.

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