Prologue:

Mimi was at it again. She was in her room screaming like she was home alone but she knew that I was here. She knew that that I had stayed home from school to take care of my mother. I always stayed home when it was bad like it was today. And today was really bad.
Yesterday mother had looked better and she had felt better. In fact, she had felt good enough to get out of bed and walk around the room before she felt weak again. She hadn't been out of bed in weeks, maybe even months, I've lost track. Since the sickness the days just run together and blur into one big mess that has no beginning and no end. The thing is, I remember the day when she became confined to her room, that was the day I started to hate Mimi a little bit more.
When our parents married, my mother whisked me away from my small town life in Texas to Tokyo, Japan to live with a kind Japanese man and his whore of a daughter. While Yoshito was kind and welcomed me warmly to his home, his daughter Mimi stuck her nose up at me and walked away. I hoped that I wouldn't have to deal with her that much but she manages to make fun of me and harass me on a daily basis. If it were up to me I would put her on the streets where she belongs, it's not like she likes to hide her sex life from anyone.
The screaming stopped, she always seemed to finish having sex when my cooking was done. I looked down at the soup that I had been stirring and was now violently bubbling. She was like a timer that people keep in their kitchen, she turns off right when the food is finished.
I took the pan off of the fire, turning off the stove as I did so and began pouring the contents into a bowl. I sat the bowl on a tray and began filling a cup with cool water. I sat the cup next to the tray and waited for Mimi and her current boyfriend to come down the stairs. I didn't want to get caught on the narrow stairway with her boyfriend because of all the boyfriends that she has had, he was the worst.
I started washing my hands as she came pounding down the stairs. She half jogged half walked into the kitchen, her cheeks pink and her chest rising a falling slightly, she smiled at me,'' You might need to clean the bathroom... Sis.'' she mocked and continued out the door with her bag haphazardly slung on her shoulder.
I scowled, she was disgusting. Just being in her presence made me want to scrub everything she touched and afterwards give myself a good scrub down. To me she was a germ that needed to be disinfected, scrubbed raw and shined. I scrubbed my hands harder, feeling grossed out by her words when I felt long, slender fingers run slowly across my ass.
"When are you going to let me hit this? Your sister was easy enough but damn give a guy a chance.'' the low, sensual voice of the owner said. His voice practically trying to fuck my ear. His hands moved to my hips and pulled me so that my ass was pressed against his new growing erection.
I felt the anger flare in me and I spun around to face him,''One, she's not my sister. And two, you will never ever and I mean ever, hit this,'' I motioned to my body,'' because your a whore just like Mimi and I'm surprised that I haven't caught anything just from being this close to you.''
He chuckled and gave me a look that said " she's so cute". "You won't regret it.'' he said.
"Tahno, I regret knowing who you are. Now if you would please leave so that I may tend to my mother.''
He kept the smile on his face, turned on his heel and left quietly... Thank God. I whipped off the invisible dirt on my pants and picked up the tray. I hurried up the stairs and into my mothers room.
She was laying on her back and sleeping soundly. I sat the food down on the stand next to her bed that held various pill bottles prescribed by the doctors but they didn't know what was wrong with her. Sometimes the pills helped and she got better but the sickness pulled her back. The damn sickness, would let up for awhile and then she would be sick all over again. It was mocking us and letting us know that it wouldn't let her go, it was going to drain every bit of life out of her until not a single drop was left.
I looked at her pale face that had once been vibrant and colorful and was now dull and withered. She was small, smaller than what I remembered her ever being. She looked so frail and small, it was like looking at a skeleton. I didn't like thinking that she looked like that but that's the only way I can describe the way she looks. I placed my hand on her bony shoulder that let off little heat,''Mom.'' I said softly.
She slowly opened her eyes and smiled meekly at me,''Hi baby.'' her voice was soft and weak.
"You hungry?'' I asked and waved to the soup that sat next to her. Liquids were the only thing that she could keep down and even then she didn't eat a lot. She looked at the food and nodded,'' Is it tomato?'' she asked.
Tomato was her favorite and I made it a habit to make for her as often as possible. I nodded and began spooning her the food. She only ate a couple of bites before she was finished. I didn't ask her to eat anymore than what she could because something was better than nothing.
"Do you need anything else?'' I asked.
"Could you read me a story?'' she asked me.
I smiled,''Of course. What do you want to hear?''
She didn't even think about it,''The Giving Tree.'' she said it like she had her heart set on hearing the story today.
Under different circumstances I would have laughed at her choice but I didn't. If she wanted to hear it was going to read it to her. I picked the book off of the shelf and began reading to her my favorite childhood story. Word by word I told the story that I had heard thousands of times in my childhood, the story that I knew by heart. I don't know why I did but I poured everything I had into this story, just for her. Something told me to do my best and to read from my heart.
When I finished the story I looked down at mother and I knew. I didn't have to ask if she was awake. A single tear slid down my cheek because I knew that she was never going to wake up again. I pulled the blanket up and tucked her in with shaking hands.
I looked longly at her face that was now peaceful and still. The pain that she had been in was gone and she looked almost happy. She looked like she did before she got sick.
My heart hurt and there was a lump in my throat,'' Happy Mother's Day.'' I whispered between sobs as I fell to my knees with my head buried in her lap.

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed it. Let me know what you all think and please be kind. Just review and let me know what could be better and I do plan on continuing this story, this was just the opener and I will try to update every Saturday, just depending on the reviews that I get. Peace and love everyone =).