"Mamá!" Isabella yelled.
Vivian's eyelids fluttered.
Isabella raced over to her, sobbing already.
"Mamá, don't leave me! Don't go!" she cried.
Isabella could tell her mother's life was fading.
Vivian stroked her daughter's hair.
"My beautiful Isa," she breathed faintly. "Isa, I have to go. Your father's here to take me, and I can't be late."
"No, Mamá! Stay, stay with me!" Isabella sobbed.
Vivian smiled weakly.
"I'll be here, even if you can't see me."
This only made Isabella cry harder.
Vivian hugged her daughter, then resumed stroking her hair.
But her hand soon fell away.
"NO! Mamá, don't leave me, don't go…"
But Isabella could hear the heart monitor.
Her mother had flatlined.
Vivian was dead.