this is a story i've been dying to tell someone or write down for quite a long time now, the story of the day mum died. i know its kinda wierd that it was one of the best stories in my life, but it was. On the 14th of january 2009 Dad, Jamie, Granny, Grandpa and I went to St. Anns as usual to see mum. Whenit came to going home for tea jamie went back to Granny's as had become a sort of routine now and for some reason i decided to stay and have tea at the hospice just for that day. (now is probably a good time to mention that Dad and I wanted to be with mum when she went and jamie didn't.) Anyway, Dad and I were sat in the side room with mum (who was breathing more heavily than usual that day) and we were speaking about what we were going to do after mum died. we spoke about how we were going to redecorate the house with a "spindular balistrada" (spindle staircase) like mum wanted it, and cover up the huge gap in my bedroom with a new wardrobe. Dad told me about how mum wanted Jay and I in smart suits for the funeral. We went on for hours speaking about how mum wanted everything to be in the next few months and when we had finished talking we started watching doctor who, the scary one with the angel statues. after about 10 minutes of watching it there was a certain quietness in the room, even though the telly was still going. I turned in my seat next to Mum's Bed and just watched her, for what felt like hours all merged into 1 second, waiting for her to take another deep breath like she had been doing. After an eternity of looking at her peaceful, calm, still smiling face i turned to Dad, who was still watching the telly, but couldn't find any words to say. So i said the 1st word that came to mind, "Dad." I don't know for sure but i have a feeling that mum had everything turn out as she wanted it... She waited til the moment that she knew everything was going to go right: the decoration, the suits, everything. Even while she was asleep im sure she was secretly listening in. Then, after we both cried for a while and jay, and our grandparents had arrived, there was a sense of happiness, that everything had gone right and that most of all, mum was happy :D And that is why it was the best story i have, because even in the depths of sadness and misery the whole family stuck together and everything was just perfect.... Ben H.