Dear Maya

To my sweet Maya,

As you lie sleeping beside me on this cold winter night, I feel compelled to write you this

letter. It is the eve of your first birthday, and though I do not have the money to purchase

you a proper gift, I leave you with this. My promise. You see, I was also raised by a

single mother, but her heart had no room for me, for love. Her soul had soured long

before I was born. My father, your grandfather, left her upon discovering she was with

child. She often blamed me for his abandonment and lacked the kindness, and warmth

mothers are supposed to give their children. For years I was afraid to have my own

children, I did not want to be the kind of mother that she was to me. Then I found out I

was pregnant with you and your father left me, just like my father left my mother. I was

terrified that history would repeat itself with us. Then I held you in my arms for the first

time and everything fell into place. The love I felt for you in that moment surpassed

every preconceived notion I had about what it truly meant to be a mother. So, on this

night, my beloved daughter, I promise you this. You hold my heart. All of it. You will

never question my love for you. For you are more beautiful to me than all the stars in

the night sky. You are more valuable to me than all the precious jewels in the king’s

treasury. You will never question your worth, and I will raise you with all the strength and

confidence that I never had. You will be better than I ever could have hoped to be. One

day when you’re old enough, I will gift you this letter with a warm smile and heart full of

pride knowing you’re the incredible, courageous, intelligent, compassionate, head

strong woman I always knew you would be. I have loved you every day of your life and

will continue to love you even long after I have taken my last breath. You are the better

parts of me, and I cannot wait to see you shine.

All my love,

Mum

Maya held the yellowing paper in her hands; silent tears streaked down her face. Her

best friend Lydia gently placed her hand on Maya’s shoulder and offered her a

comforting smile. It was Maya’s wedding day, and her fiancé had given her this letter as

a gift. The fall before her wedding Maya’s mum fell terribly ill and made her fiancé

promise to give her the letter on their wedding day. Daniel stayed true to his word, he

would do anything for his beloved. Maya delicately wiped her tears to keep her makeup

intact. Her mum had indeed kept all her promises and more. She was the best mum a

girl could have ever dreamed of. She wasn’t perfect, but that made it even more special.

Maya’s mum encouraged her to chase her dreams and loved with her heart wide open.

Maya often questioned why it had just been the two of them all those years and her

mum would give appropriate answers depending on what age Maya had been at the

time of those questions. One thing Maya would never question was how much her mum

loved her. Her mum fought a silent battle all her life to be the person her daughter

deserved and it shaped Maya into an incredible young woman. She graduated top of

her year at university, got accepted into her dream job, had wonderful friends and the

best soon to be husband anyone could hope to have. Maya’s mum never once made

her feel like a burden when they had to go without. When resources were scarce, her

mum rolled up the sleeves of her homemade linen dress and worked harder for them.

So, when Maya got her first promotion and raise, she bought her mother a flat to thank

her for all she had done.

Her mum had cried and at first refused the generous offer, but Maya had insisted and

eventually her mum had given in. Maya didn’t know what her life would have looked like

if her mum hadn’t chosen to break the toxic cycle that had plagued her lineage for so

long. Would she have gone to school? Would she have become a run away? Would she

have continued the cycle with her own children, because that was all she knew to do?

Thankfully she would never have to know.

Maya gently folded the delicate paper and put it back in its lavender gift box to keep it

safe. Lydia helped her clasp the necklace around her neck her mum had gifted her. It

had a silver chain and a small pendant in the shape of a bird. Maya smiled at her

reflection, she had her mum’s dark hair and deep brown eyes, she loved that they

shared the same color eyes. “We’re ready for you.” An usher said, peaking his head

through the door at the two women. Maya stood and a hand rested itself on her

shoulder. She turned to look but Lydia was not behind her, she was near the door, fixing

her own dress. Maya caught a glimpse of herself in the standing mirror and could have

sworn she saw her mum smiling warmly in the corner. When Maya blinked, she was

gone. Must have been my mind playing tricks. I do miss her dearly… Maya subtly shook

her head, look Lydia’s arm and the two of them walked out of the room.

The usher pushed open the doors to the chapel and Maya felt her heart flutter when she lay eyes on her beloved. Daniel's eyes shone with unshed tears, his smile nearly split his face in two.

She thought back to her mum and all they had endured together. The silent battles never shared with the outside world. Her mum fought so hard to give Maya the life she herself never had. She Succeeded. Maya glanced over to the seat wrapped in white satin ribbon with a sign that read in elegant script. "Reserved for Opal" the elegance of her mum's name suited her well. She moved through the world with the grace and elegance of a ballet dancer. She taught Maya to see the beauty in the world, and even when life never ceased to put her down, to never let it harden her. Opal always told her daughter that her gentle heart would be her greatest strength and to protect it at all costs. Maya never understood what her mum meant by that until the day she sat at her mum's side the day she took her final breath. Lydia and Daniel had been there that day as well and held Maya through the darkest time of her life.

At the end of the aisle she took her beloveds hand and she knew her mum was there as the rays of evening sun shone through the stained glass of the chapel. Maya smiled as the sun warmed her skin. She made it.