the sound of a sigh

the sound of her mother's sigh reverberates within me even 24 hours on. in that quiet room where everybody just stood looking at her and stroking her arm, not knowing what to say, the quiet sigh of her mother was deafening. the single sound spoke so much. it spoke of all the unsaid nights that her mother has spent crying by her bedside. it spoke of all the heartbreak, all the broken expectations and vanished hopes. it tells of so much sadness, endurance and fortitude. it gave us a glimpse of her hopelessness, her anguish, her torment. how can anyone of us understand how crushing it is to see your child lying there so helplessly, so powerless, so bleak a future. a cruel inhumane thought flitted past my mind, and i was ashamed of it. but for her family, for her daughter, for her even..........wouldn't it be a better alternative? i do not know which path is less painful but i believe both will be as devastating. to be in a place where either path is as grievious.......how cruel the world can be sometimes.