What's up, everyone! Scorpion here, bringing you another chapter of A Mother's Love.

So... Some heavy stuff happened last chapter. *awkward pause* Let's see what happens next... :-)

Technical stuff: Rosie and the lumas belong to Nintendo.

To the point, *clears throat* Chapter 17...


Who Was Still There

The young girl opened her eyes, but felt like she was still asleep. She was just there, neither floating nor sinking. There was no light, but she wasn't cold. It was nothingness as far as her eyes can see. Once again, like years before, she was alone. This time, however, she wasn't sad. Even now, in this life less abyss, she knew what she done, and if it saved her luma, she wouldn't change a thing. She had only a single regret.

She looked ahead of her for as far as she can. In the distance, she saw a small light in the cloudy abyss. It was a small light, far in the distance, but it was a strong light, one she has seen many times. Its light and warmth was from a single star. Though she never seen this one before, she felt at home with its glow.

"Hello, mother," She said weakly.

No response.

"I'm not sure if you can hear me, but I feel you there."

Nothing.

"You have always watched over me, have you?"

Nothing.

"I am sorry that we have to meet again so soon, but I cared too much to let anything happen to them."

Still nothing.

"If you can, can you grant me one last wish?"

Silence

The young girl closed her eyes, and prayed to the star with all her heart, "Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight. Grant me the strength to watch over them. All of them, as you have watched over me."

At first, the response was the same. Then, without warning, the cloudiness began to disappear, revealing what seems like a blue, night sky. Shortly, another distant blue star flickered in the strange sky. Soon, another, an apricot one, appeared not too far from that one. Then, one more, red this time, appeared to the left of the young girl. Then another two, yellow and white, appeared to her right. With increasing pace and numbers, stars of different colors flickered on all around her, each one bathing her in their warmth.

"These stars," she said, "They are the ones I raised. Are they, mother?"

There she was, surrounded by thousands of stars, each one born from a luma that she raised from a child and loved with all her being. She was amazed by their show. Nothing can describe how happy she was for them all.

One last light appeared, this time; it was directly in front of her. It was small, no bigger than a star bit, and baby pink. She recognized this one well. "Hello, Luma. You brought everyone here, huh?"

"You have watched over all of us for so long, Mama," the voice of the luma echoed in her head, "Are you really going to stop now?"

"I will never stop watching over you," the girl said back.

"We still need you, Mama," the voice said.

"And I you, but I don't have the strength anymore."

"But you always had us, Mama. You have our strength."

The other stars flickered in what seems to be agreement.

"I am thankful, but I would never ask for such a selfish thing," she said, "I did it only out of the love in my heart and the love my own mother gave to me."

"That why we are giving our strength to you, Mama," said the voice. "You gave us the courage to become the stars you see around you. This is a thank you for all the love you given us."

The stars in the sky began to shoot towards the pink light. The gathered in front of her, all the hundreds, maybe even thousands, in to a ball of multicolored light. She felt it brimming with life, the life born from the love she gave them. Stars, planets, moons, solar systems, even whole galaxies and the living beings born from them gave a small portion of the strength to this ball of energy, thanking her for the affection and guidance she gave them when were but lumas.

The spark that ignited in her heart long ago returned, stronger than ever. With what little she had left, and all the love and strength in her heart, the girl raised her arms and wrapped them around the ball of light, holding it as she would her precious luma.

"It is I who should be thanking you," she thought, "The first day we met; I had a hole inside me. Now, that hole is gone, thanks to your smiles. That is all I ever wanted."

The warmth enveloped her. The ball glowed brighter and brighter as their strength happily and gratefully became hers.

"Thank you, children, and thank you, Mother."


A gift from far beyond. From the ones she loves to the one they loved. Thus is the cycle.

Thanks for reading, next chapter will be up soon.

This is Scorpion, signing out! T.T.F.N! (If you are wondering why I am not as chatty as I normally am, I had to watch the storybook seen to try to get the correct mood for this part. Plus, it is 1:36 AM on a school night. You can probably figure out how I am feeling right now. The things I do for love...)