A Short True Story About Mother

The word “Mother” is small, yet its meaning is deeper than the oceans and higher than the skies. It is because of our mothers that we are even able to see the light of this world. From the moment a child is conceived, a mother’s life begins to revolve entirely around her baby. She endures unimaginable pain, sleepless nights, physical discomfort, and emotional strain — all for the sake of her child.

A child stays in the mother's womb for nine long months and ten days. During this time, the mother’s body, mind, and soul go through countless changes. Yet she embraces it all with love. I never fully understood this — not until my wife became pregnant and we welcomed our own child into this world.

Raising a child is a journey filled with joy, worry, sleepless nights, first steps, first words, illnesses, and laughter. Oh, the sacrifices — only a parent knows! And now that I am a father, I realize the weight that both a mother and a father silently carry. But even with all the challenges, the joy is priceless — the first time your child smiles at you, calls you “Baba,” runs to you when you come home from work, sleeps peacefully in your arms, listens to your stories with wide eyes — these moments make it all worthwhile.

Years ago, I heard a story. I was told it was true. A story that shook me to my core. It happened in a country somewhere in the Middle East.

There was a widowed woman who raised her only son with immense hardship. She worked hard to give him an education. She had only one eye, and because of that, other students mocked her son at school. They teased him, calling his mother ugly. Ashamed and embarrassed, the boy began to wish his mother wouldn’t come to school anymore. And little by little, resentment grew in his heart. He began to hate her for something he could not control. Eventually, he left the country for a better life, cutting off all contact with his mother. He got married, had children, and built a happy, successful life abroad — without his mother in it. He never called, never visited, and never wondered if she was even alive.

But a mother never forgets her child.

After many years, he found his address and traveled all the way just to see him one last time. When she knocked on the door, her grandchildren opened it and laughed at the sight of her one eye. Then the son came out and, without a second thought, scolded her in front of his family and told her to leave. Heartbroken, she quietly turned around and left, tears in her only eye.

Some time later, the son had to return to his homeland. There, he learned that his mother had passed away. A neighbor handed him a letter that she had left for him before she died.

He opened the letter, and as he read it, tears rolled down his face: That was enough for me. I left in peace.

But I wanted you to know something that I never told you — something I carried in my heart all these years. When you were very little, you had an accident and lost one of your eyes. The doctors said you would grow up blind in one eye. I couldn’t bear to let that happen. So I gave you one of mine.

It brought me joy every day to know that you were seeing the world through my eye — that you could read, explore, love, and live freely. Even if I had to live in darkness, it was worth it for you to live in light.

I never wanted you to feel ashamed of me. I only wanted you to live a full life. That was always my dream. But it was too late. Let us not wait for time to teach us the value of those who love us unconditionally. Let us say today, without delay:

“Mom, I love you.”

“Thank you for everything.”