Crazy World

He had just watched an internet clip showing a young girl dancing beside her dying mother's bed. She was tall and youthful, her lush black hair swaying along with her slender and graceful body to the music.

He observed that the mother's eyes remained closed throughout. Perhaps she didn't want to leave the world seeing her beloved child like this. She closed her eyes, or they were closed, to shield her from these agonizing moments. What more could she do? How does one teach empathy and care? Maybe she hadn't attended enough funerals. There, she might have seen the anguish of the deceased's close family. Regardless of whether the person was good or bad, they were no longer alive. What if she had brought her child to more funerals, and all she learned was to feign concern? She would pretend to care about her. Which was harder to witness, the deceit in her eyes as she feigned concern or her dancing at her mother's deathbed? Was this a demand of a cruel world that didn't allow her daughter a moment to grieve? Did she have to move on so quickly? Perhaps she is mistaken and acting melodramatic. Likely, when her daughter's time comes, she won't care what her family feels. She lived life on her terms and used it as intended.

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Even on her deathbed, the mother refused to believe she raised anything less than perfection. The thought that her daughter might be a psychopath, someone indifferent to others' suffering, never crossed her mind.

The video saddened him. He scoured the internet for something contrary to what he had just witnessed.

There was another clip of a mother and her toddler daughter. The mother pretended to be a two-year-old whose peach was snatched by the little girl, who couldn't have been older than two.

The mother feigned upset with tears and pouts. As soon as the little one noticed her mother's distress, she returned the peach. She didn't stop there; she also consoled her mother with a gentle touch. The camera focused closely on her small face. The young girl was delighted to see her mother pleased to have the peach again.

Now, he found himself troubled. A disquieting thought entered his mind. What if this innocent heart encountered the other? Which would prevail? Despite the unlikely odds, he hoped for the triumph of the little angel.