Fading Light
By Dani May
Luke stood at the edge of the opened front door, holding a small bakery box in one hand, and a blue folder in the other. The smell of coffee and his mother’s lavender perfume wafted through the air. Just in the next room, the kitchen, he could hear his mother humming an old tune that she used to sing to him and his sister before bed – back when there were two of them.
He knocked on the open door. Five o’clock, on the dot.
“Come in, darling!” Mary’s voice said from inside.
With a sad smile, Luke stepped inside. His mother’s small frame appeared through the kitchen doorway. Her silver hair pinned up, a blue rag in one hand, and a small silver tray in the other.
“Hi mom,” he said.
She frowned, eyes reaching his face. “Oh… you must be here to fix the bathroom?”
“It’s me,” he said gently, setting the bakery box down on the table. “Luke.”
Her brows knitted together. “I’m sorry, I’m waiting for my daughter. She should be here any second now.”
Luke hesitated, his chest tightening up. “Right… Lilith,” he said softly.
She nodded, face lighting up. “Yes! My darling girl. She loves-“
“Coffee cake,” he said, opening the bakery box. “It’s your favorite, too.”
Her face lit up once more, forgetting about the conversation. “Lovely! Please, sit, sit.”
Luke sat down on the couch. At the coffee table, coffee was served, accompanied by the cake he had brought. On the edge of the table, a wooden picture frame sat – a photo of Mary, Harrison, and Lilith at the zoo. A bear caught mid-yawn standing behind them. The glass from the frame was warped and foggy, but their smiles on that warm summer day were left untouched.
Mary wiped the frame with her blue rag, reminiscing. “What a lovely day, this was,” she said. “Harrison, my husband, he was so scared of the bear.”
Luke smiled. “And all three of you were wearing your Black Sabbath shirts.”
Mary paused, eyes flickering towards him. “Yeah… that’s…” she murmured, surprised. “How would you know that?”
He didn’t answer, instead he poured the warm coffee into their cups, his hands steady though deep inside he felt completely hollow.
They sat in silence for a while. In the background, the clock ticked, and the wind rustled the trees outside, notifying them of a storm incoming.
“She’s never late,” she said suddenly, breaking the silence. “Lilith is always here at five, on the dot.”
Luke looked at her for a moment. He hesitated. He wanted to tell her about how Lilith had died eight years ago, and how the car crash had taken more than just his sister. But he couldn’t. No way he was going to make his mother relieve that pain, not again.
“Maybe she got caught in traffic,” he said as he forced a smile.
Mary nodded, then lifted her cup to her lips. “You know? You remind me of my husband, Harrison. Strong, reserved, and always worried about me.”
“Everybody says that,” Luke replied with a soft laugh.
Mary’s eyes returned to the photo. “He used to sing this song all the time.”
Luke recognized it immediately as she started to sing it. I’ve seen your face a hundred times. Every day we’ve been apart. I don’t care about the sunshine, yeah. Cause mama, mama I’m coming home.
He joined in, voice breaking halfway through. For a moment, their singing blended in together, strong, steady. Her eyes found his, and for a gentle heartbeat, she was there.
“Luke?” she called out, uncertain, through foggy eyes.
His heart skipped a beat. “Yes, mom, it’s me.”
She smiled. The biggest smile that he’s seen in years. “My boy, you came home.”
“I never left,” he replied, voice trembling.
Before they could reach each other for a hug, the clock struck at the hour. Much like a spell, her eyes blinked, and everything was gone. She looked at the photograph and started humming again – same melody yet somewhere lost between here and there. Faded memories.
Se gathered the empty cups and the half-eaten slice of cake, and disappeared into the kitchen.
As she did that, he replaced the photo in the frame with a new one that he retrieved from the blue folder – one of him and Lilith as little kids, making silly faces, and wearing their matching Black Sabbath shirts.
When Mary came back, she looked at the photo, eyes glassy but curious. “Who are these?” she asked.
Luke smiled, despite his heart breaking. “Your kids,” he said. “Luke and Lilith.”
She nodded, but the names didn’t ring any bells. “They are adorable. Their mother must be proud of them.”
“She is,” he whispered.
Outside, the wind carried the scent of coffee and lavender. Luke stood on the porch, listening to his mother singing the song inside. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, taking it all in, the sound of a memory he refused to let fade away.
THE END
Author Bio: Dani Marquez is a film producer and writer from Bogota, Colombia. When she’s not producing on set or developing video games, she can be found at a rock concert, or a local coffee shop, typing away stories based on human connection and emotion, or the unseen corners of everyday life.