The sun rises and the sun sets. Do you see this, my child? The light shines differently from where you are now.

Ah, it’s a different time there, isn’t it? Oh, are you still sleeping? I’m so sorry to disturb you. Yes, sleep well, my love. Goodbye for now.

Please know that mama misses you. Your cute little toes that once curled in my palm have grown longer. You’ve become someone else, my son, but you are still my beloved child. Remember to be good to your aunt. Be kind.

It’s not easy here, my son, but I will do it all for you.

Tell me, what do you need?

Tell me, what do you want?

What purpose does my life have, if not for you?

I will endure this, each and every painful day. All in the hopes of my dream becoming true. That one day, you will be free. And I will have given you the world.

I know, my love. Mama has not called as often as I should have. I want to. I try. I really do.

But sometimes the walls of this place are too heavy to lift. The air is thick with unspoken words, heavy with all I cannot explain. Please, don’t think I’ve forgotten.

Don’t ever entertain the idea of me forgetting you. My thoughts upon waking and before I go to bed consist only of you and how I can give you everything you desire. I love you, more than the stars in the sky, more than the endless universe. Please n—Hello? My sweet child? Oh, it’s okay, you can pass the phone to your aunt now.

I had no choice. My son deserves a good life, a better life than what we had. I promised myself he will never suffer like I did, like we did. Money won’t stand in my son’s way, not now, not ever. He will become the best of the best without ever having to dig himself out of a financial hole.

Please, do not judge my decision, sister. I will handle everything. Just take care of him, please. Remind him of me from time to time, even when I do not call. Yes yes, I’ll transfer some money tomorrow. I’ll call again sometime.

Hello, my love, my dearest child, I’ve been told that your uniform has changed again. Are you happy with your new school? How is high school for you now? Is it the same as before? Is it easier? Or have the days become longer, more tiring, like they do when you try to outrun your classmates in the field back when you were in kindergarten?

It’s okay, you can tell me anything. You know you can.

Oh.

My son, do you not recognize your mother? It’s me. Oh, you don’t want to talk right now? It’s alright. I’ll call again tomorrow. We’ll eat breakfast together, just like before. Time is no object for me. I’ll make it work. I promise. So, let’s set a—

People told you what I do here? What did they say? Hello?

Did they say I made the wrong choice? Did they call me a failure? Did they try to tarnish my efforts in their vain attempts to shame what I do? Have they ever—Oh, sorry for that, my dearest. Hello?

My son, I had no choice. I wanted to give you everything—everything I never had. I wanted to make up for the things I couldn’t change.

My whole existence is for you, my dear. It’s not illegal here, don’t worry. Please don’t be ashamed of me. I only want you to have a life that is free from the burdens that weighed me down. That’s all I ever wanted. But it’s hard. I’ve tried every option, every angle, and I’m just… spent. Like I’ve been walking in circles for hours, and the only thing that’s changed is how much my feet hurt.

Hello?

Oh, hello sister, please tell my son I love him. Yes, I’ll transfer the money later. Please, remind him of me today.

My dear child, it’s me. Are you ashamed of your mother? Please don’t feel this way. Don’t let the distance between us become a wall. I will clean all this up one day. Just wait for me. I’ll call again tomorrow. Please answer next time.

Hello?

Hello?

Sister, how is—Oh, I’ll transfer it later. Please, tell him again that I love him.

My dearest son! It seems you’ve graduated high school now. Congratulations, my son. You’re stepping into a new chapter of your life. It’s like we’re both traversing different paths, each of us in our own ways, searching for something we can’t quite grasp yet but we ultimately have the same goal. Just remember, you don’t need to rush life. Life has its own pace, just like the days have their own rhythm. Go get that black toga in any way and pace you want, in your own time. There is no need to hurry.

Yes, I am so very proud of you, my son. Have fun at your celebration! I’ll talk to your aunt now.

Yes, sister, it’s getting harder. They’ve been more aggressive lately, but I can still manage. Don’t worry. I’ve learned how to navigate this, how to find hope in the smallest cracks of this situation I’m in. But I do not want to lose my son, I want to support his future with everything I’ve got. I do not want him to forget me. So, tonight do—yes, I’ll transfer it later and don’t forget to tell him again that I love him.

My son! You’re about to get your degree! This is the happiest I’ve been in months. It feels like all the pain I’ve gone through, all the nights without sleep, all the sacrifices, have led me to this moment. We’ll celebrate when I get back! No, this bruise is nothing. What matters is you’re graduating. This moment is for you. You want me to come home now? I can still help you, my son. I’ll support you through the early years of your career. I can still—

Oh, yes sister. My sacrifices have been burdening my son? But I truly can still do it. I’ll transfer some money later and please just always remind him how much I love him.

You’re getting married, my child? How exciting! I can’t believe it. You’re growing up so fast. I remember the days when you couldn’t even say my name without stumbling over the syllables. But now, you’re taking steps toward a future of your own. Please, invite me. I want to be there for you. I want to see you start your life with the person you love.

Sister! My son’s getting married! Oh, yes, I’ll transfer it later. Don’t worry. It’s okay, I can still do this. I can hold on a little longer. Please do console my son’s worries about me.

I need to keep going, even though every day here feels like I’m losing a little more of myself. Every choice I make, every step I take, feels like it’s taking me further away from everything I once knew. But I need to do this. I need to do it for him. I need to give him the best life possible.

I only need to know that, despite everything, he still remembers me. That the sacrifices I’ve made, the choices I’ve had to live with, have meant something. That he knows I love him, even from this distance. Just… please, remind him of me tonight.

I have a granddaughter? My heart is overflowing with joy! Sister, please remind my son that I—you know, I do think that he can now sustain himself.

If you put it like that, it would seem that I have no purpose in life anymore. Live for myself? How ridi—

Mother please.

…

My dearest child, I never meant to put this burden on you. If it is a bit of consolation to you at this point, I would say I release you. Though, as you know, it is not that easy to truly do this but do remember you are not bound by my choices, nor should you feel burdened by my past. Fly, and let your journey be your own. Explore and make your own choices. For when you embrace the unknown, you will find the life I always dreamed for you. And in your happiness, I will find my peace.

In the quiet of the night, the mother found a different kind of hope, a hope born not of reunion, but of liberation. She had wandered, and in her wandering, she had set her son free. And in his freedom, she found a measure of her own.

The sacrifices of the mother made her soul wear thin. Each day wore her thinner, the weight of her choices pressing into her bones. However, she has loved her son enough to let him find his own way—something she wanted to tell her son in person but never did. She walked a dark path so her son could walk in the light. She asks not for remembrance, but for her son to live fully, to embrace the unknown, and to know that in his freedom, she has found her own.

Such is the life of a mother.

Editor’s Note: This article was first published in the Banaag Diwa 2025: Nasaag Literary Folio of Atenews.