The Woman Who Used to Be a Mother

They asked the mother: “Woman, you were a girl once. You lived a good life and then conceived children. Then you became a mother. Not once but twice. And both times your children died. Why do you call yourself a mother? You were once, but not now!”

The mother took her scarf off and looked at them with her watery eyes and sharp look.

“Does the mountain get flat when the earthquakes are done? Do rivers stop flowing when the rain stops? The same as the air that does not go away when the wind stops, the woman becomes a mother once and remains forever. It is true, that death will be my relief, just as the hole where the sea is waits for the water to vanish. My life without my children is pointless, but I am still a mother. Mothers don't die.”.

The people resented it and went to another woman. They found a widow living alone, whose children had moved out of the village.

“Hey woman, do you still have mothering to do? Even now when your three children do not sit next to the same fire where you warm your cold bones? Even now when there won't be anyone to cover you when you are asleep or close your eyes when you die? Why do you call yourself a mother? You were once, but not anymore!”

The mother kept sitting on the small chair in the middle of her room. She didn't lift or turn her head at all. She wept for a moment and then spoke.

“When my children left, they took three things with them. The oldest took my legs so I couldn't walk. The second one took my eyes, so I couldn't see. The youngest one took my soul, so I cannot be. When I became a mother my breasts were full of milk. Now they are shallow and heavy. But have I lost them? My eyes are worthless as they don't see my children now, but they are still there. My legs don't take me anywhere, but I can still stand straight on them. Even though I don't feel love for anyone else anymore, for I do not have a soul, I welcome my good friends every time they come to visit me. My life without my children makes little sense, but I am still a mother. And mothers don't die”.

People got upset about how wise the woman was and they didn't hear what they wanted. They left and went to find their answers to another poor soul.

They found a grave on which the following was written:

“Here lies a Mother, who once gave birth to a single child. She raised him together with her husband. He got educated, worked, and had a family of his own. When she died, the mother had 4 nephews. She was and always will remain our most loved mother.”

Signed were her children and nephews.

The people looked at each other and didn't say a word. Then one of them said out loud:

"Hey, people! We tried to find a woman who was once a mother but isn't anymore. You see, we found the one who mourned her children. But she was still a mother. Then we found the one who waited for her children to come back, but she was still a mother. Then we found this tomb engraved with these fine words on it. She is dead, but they still call her a mother. We couldn't find that woman, but all we found was that mothers don't die. Do we still have to seek? Once you become a mother, you are a mother, even in your death".

Then they scattered and didn't look for a woman who was once a mother, but not anymore.