A boy sits on a stoop with his hands in his lap.
He is looking longingly in the distance.
Neighborhood boys are playing in the sunshine.

A woman wonders by.
She looks around and sees the boy.
She askes him what is the matter.

"I can't go play with the other children."

The woman looks at the boys that are playing.
She looks back at the boy on the stoop.
She asks why he can't play.

"My mom is inside the house."

The woman makes a funny face.
She looks up at the house.
She tells him that the other moms are inside.

"But my mom is different."

The woman looks down at the boy.
He is looking up at her.
She asks why his mother is different.

"She is very sick."

The woman looks back up at the house.
She feels awful for the boy.
She tells the boy everything will be just fine.

"But it won't be."

The woman takes a seat on the stoop.
She looks at the boy.
She asks him why everything won't be alright.

"She's been sick for a long time."

The woman keeps looking at him.
He puts his head in his hands.
She puts a comforting hand on his back.

"I'm afraid that if I leave the house, she'll die."

The woman doesn't know what to say.
The boy looks up at her.
He wipes his tears away.

"Madam, if you have someone you love, cherish them."

The boy then stands up.
The woman looks up at him.
He puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Tell them that you love them."

The woman listened.
The boy kept his hand on her shoulder.
He looked into her eyes.

"Because they might not have much longer."

The boy withdrew his hand.
The woman stood up.
Her eyes had tears in them.

"I know my mom doesn't have much longer."

The boy went into the house.
The woman wondered on.
She passed the house everyday.

The boy never sat on the stoop again