Grief-stricken Maisie was shocked when she received a voicemail from an unknown number, which sounded like the voice of her deceased son. A week later, the sender of the message appeared on her doorstep and changed her life forever.
Mrs. Buckley cooked her signature casserole and left it to cool on the windowsill.
“Maybe this will cheer her up a bit,” thought Mrs. Buckley. After a few minutes, she covered the casserole with aluminum foil and walked to Maisie’s house across the street.
“It’s been two weeks and Maisie hasn’t even shed a tear. This can’t be good for her health. At least she’s eating and hopefully sleeping well,” Mrs. Buckley thought of Maisie as she walked towards her house.
A few weeks ago Maisie received the news of the death of her son Lewis, who was in the army. Lewis had been her only support since the death of her husband many years ago. He too had served in the army. Now Maisie was alone. So her neighbours, especially Mrs Buckley, decided to take care of Maisie.
Mrs Buckley knocked on the door and found it open. She entered the house and found Maisie on the sofa looking through her messages.
“Wendy, I could smell the casserole a mile away,” said Maisie smiling modestly.
“I knew it would work,” said Mrs Buckley. She was pleased to see Maisie smile.
” You can leave the casserole on the dining room table. We’ll be eating soon. I’m just going through the messages people have sent me; thoughts, prayers and so on.”
Maisie noticed a text message from an unknown number. It was accompanied by a voice message. Without thinking, Maisie played the message back.
“Is it on? Oh, good!”
Maisie was shocked to hear that voice. She dropped the phone to the floor and the sound stopped. Mrs Buckley, surprised by her friend’s action, picked up the phone and hurriedly plugged in a pair of headphones. Mrs Buckley handed one earphone to her friend and listened to the message again.
“Hi, Mum. It’s me, Lewis. Maybe I shouldn’t be so excited about this news. After all… well… okay, I’ll start again,” you can hear Lewis clearing his throat.
“Hi, Mum. You know I love you, right? And I will always love you until my last breath. The truth is, if you’re hearing this message, I’ve already taken my last breath.”
Maisie could no longer hold back the tears.
“I knew you wouldn’t cry when you heard the news of my death from others. So I thought I should tell you. I can imagine that you are crying right now. I want you to cry a little so that it doesn’t affect your mental health. But I certainly don’t want you to be sad or unhappy. The truth is, Mother, we knew this day would come. You always knew how much I loved serving my country. You were right about patriotism in the family. And I’m so proud of you for being a brave mother.”
Maisie was sobbing profusely. Mrs Buckley hugged her tightly, but even she could not help her.
“I know people remember the soldier’s sacrifice, but they often forget the greater sacrifice made by the soldier’s family. It must be hard for those who lost a husband in the line of duty. And then single-handedly raising a son, going through all these hardships and sending him off to war – I can’t imagine how much courage it must have taken to do that. You’re a real patriot here, you know that, Mum?”.
“I want you to be proud of me, Mum. But most importantly, I want you to be proud of yourself. Thank you for your service, Mama. I’m so proud to be your son!”.
The message ended, but Maisie’s tears did not stop. Maisie hadn’t cried in days. When she heard her son’s voice, she could no longer contain her emotions.
That day Maisie cried and shared with Mrs Buckley all the feelings she was repressing. Maisie needed that outlet. And Maisie decided to fulfil her late son’s last wish. Maisie decided not to mourn the loss, but to enjoy life.
Maisie thanked Miss Buckley for being there for her all this time. When she saw that Maisie was doing well, Mrs Buckley began to visit her less often.
One morning Maisie was asleep and had a dream that her son was coming home. Suddenly she heard a voice, “Mommy!”
The voice was so much like Lewis’s that for a moment she thought she was still dreaming.
But the voice called again, and this time she sat up frightened in bed. It was a muffled voice coming from outside through the window.
“It can’t be… Lewis?!” Finding herself in a state between sleep and wakefulness, Maisie clutched at her chest and ran to the door.
To her surprise, she was greeted by a stranger carrying several bags.
“Good morning, Mother,” the stranger said with a smile. Maisie looked at the man carefully to see if she knew him. And she wondered why he was calling her “mother”.
“I’m sorry, son, maybe you’ve got the wrong house.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs Morrison. I didn’t mean to confuse you. Lewis asked me to call you Mama.”
Maisie flinched when she heard her son’s name.
“My name is Arthur. Lewis and I were best friends, Mrs Morrison. He asked me to record a voice message for you before we left for the war zone. I hope you got it,” Arthur said.
Tears came to Maisie’s eyes and she nodded. She invited Arthur into the house and brought him freshly brewed coffee.
“Oh, and don’t mind the bags, Mrs Morrison. I know I may have startled you when I called you ‘mum’ on the street. But I’m staying at this Airbnb hotel a few blocks away for a few days,” Arthur explained.
“Are you visiting someone, son?” – Maisie asked, noticing the notes of joy in the young man’s voice.
“Actually, I’m getting married, Mrs Morrison,” Arthur admitted, blushing. “She lives a few miles away. That’s the real reason I’m here today. I want you to be at my wedding.”
Maisie was pleasantly surprised by Arthur’s invitation.
“Lewis always told me how lovingly you raised him. He told me about the difficulties you had to face to make ends meet on your own. The thing is, I didn’t experience anything like that as an orphan,” Arthur wiped tears from his cheek as he spoke.
“When Lewis spoke of you, it seemed to me that you were my mother. Perhaps it was wishful thinking.”
Maisie smiled, wiped away her tears and nodded.
“And just before our last mission, Lewis called me and asked me to come and see you before I got married. I don’t know why he said that.”
“Well, I know why. But first I want you to call the hotel and cancel the reservation,” Maisie said after a pause.
“Mrs Morrison?” Arthur was confused.
“And stop calling me that. Call me Mum from now on and stay here until you and your future wife find your own place.”
Maisie and Arthur got emotional and hugged each other. Maisie realised that her shrewd son Lewis wanted a mother in Arthur’s future life too. He also wanted his mother to fill the void in his heart after his death.
Arthur was now like a son to Maisie. When Arthur and his wife had their first child a year later, a new phase of life began for Maisie. She became a grandmother. For many years Maisie was a loving grandmother to Arthur’s children. Every weekend, Maisie, Arthur, his wife and children visited the graves of Lewis and his father.
