Posting this for a friend. Fixed the spelling and grammer, and changed and added a few things so it would be more touching. Hope you like it. Enjoy!
"Mother"
James heard the faint chirp of crickets outside the open car window. He glanced at the clock on the police cruiser's dashboard; it was three am. He had been working a double shift and was ready to hit the sack.
Over the radio came the urgent voice of the dispatcher. "All coursers to 756 Plymith Rd."
The courser's lights flashed on as James drove down the road. He could see in the distance the faint glow of a fire, and raced even faster as he thought about the address. It was his mother's. He knew that she had just gotten out of knee surgery and could not walk yet. There was no way she could get out of the house.
The courser passed through the downtown area by this time. He could hear three other officers over the radio. They were at the scene of the fire, sending out calls to the dispatcher for more fire trucks.
The chief came over the radio but James did not catch what he said. He was too busy thinking of his frail mother. He was only five blocks away from the blazing fire and could see the flames dancing into the sky.
Just then a woman came running towards the car as he slowed to go around the barricade. "Please please help me!" she cried. "My son, he was hit by a car."
James stopped the courser and got out. He gripped the door with his hands as he agonized over the choice he had to make--save his mother or this woman's boy. James looked at the mother crying into her hands and made his decision. They ran down the street together to a small boy lying unconscious on the ground. James quickly called for an ambulance, which came whining around the corner to stop a few feet away from them. Paramedics rushed to the child and loaded him onto a stretcher.
After the ambulance left, James asked the mother if she wanted a ride to the hospital. She just stared at him with a dazed look. "I didn't see him behind me. We where heading off on a trip to see his aunt and cousins, but he forgot something in the house…" She broke off crying. "Oh, Leo, I'm so sorry!"
James wanted to comfort her, but all he could do was stand there, worrying over his mother. As soon as the woman calmed, they got into the car and he drove them both to the hospital. Once there, they raced in.
Leo was on a bed in one of the exam rooms. His mother ran to his side and gripped his hand. James walked silently behind her. On the other bed, across from Leo, was a lady with snow-gray hair, her skin dark and blotchy from burns. She looked over to the door as they came in and he made his way over to her.
"Mother," he managed to whisper. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you."
"James, it's all right," she rasped. She coughed into her arm and was silent for a moment, trying to catch her breath.
"Mother?"
"You saved that little boy's life." She coughed even harder this time, panting with the effort of talking. "In my book, and God's, you did what was right." She gazed deep into her son's eyes. "I'm proud of you, James."
She raised her hand then, and he took it, holding it gingerly so as not to cause her discomfort. Closing her eyes, she took one last shuddering breath, then was still.
The only sound to be heard was Leo's steady breathing.