The day his little sister was born was supposed to be the happiest day of his life.

Everyone had told him, “You’re going to be a big brother! You’ll have someone to protect, someone to play with.”
He had spent weeks touching his mother’s belly, whispering tiny secrets to the unborn baby inside.
He waited for the day he would finally meet her.

But nothing prepared him for what actually happened.

He remembers waking up to his grandmother’s trembling voice, trying to smile through eyes filled with fear.
He remembers being rushed to the hospital.
He remembers nurses walking quickly, whispering behind their masks.
And he remembers the moment he saw his newborn sister… wrapped peacefully in a soft pink blanket… while everyone else around them fought tears they couldn’t hold back.

When he looked around the room, something was missing.
Someone was missing.

“Where’s Mama?” he had asked with a small, hopeful voice.
But no one answered.

His grandmother knelt down, her hands shaking as she held his shoulders.
She tried to speak—
but the words broke inside her throat.

“She’s… she’s not coming back, sweetheart.”

He didn’t understand at first.
He thought maybe Mama had gone somewhere and would return later.
But then he saw the adults crying uncontrollably, hiding their faces, turning away when he asked anything more.

And that’s when it hit him.

Mama was gone.
Forever.

He climbed onto the hospital bed, his small hands reaching for his baby sister’s tiny fingers.
She moved slightly, eyes closed, unaware… untouched by the world’s cruelty.
He didn’t understand how someone could enter the world as another person leaves it.
He didn’t understand how happiness and pain could collide in the same moment.

He only knew one thing:

He and his little sister were alone now.

He touched her gently and whispered, “I’ll take care of you… Mama told me to.”

Even though he was small—far too small to carry such a burden—his heart made a promise that day.
A promise stronger than the grief surrounding him.

The coming days were a blur of tears, unanswered questions, and quiet nights where he cried into his pillow, clutching the blanket that still smelled like her.
Sometimes he woke up thinking he heard her voice.
Sometimes he turned toward the door expecting her to walk in.

But she never did.

Instead, he had a newborn sister whose tiny cries reminded him of the mother they lost… and the love they would have to live without.

People came and went, offering condolences, promising support.
But when everyone went home, when the rooms became silent again, it was just the two of them:

A boy who lost his mother too young…
and a baby girl who would never get the chance to know her.

He often sits beside her crib, watching her sleep.
Sometimes he whispers:

“I hope you can feel how much she loved you… I’ll tell you every day.”

He is small, but his heart carries the weight of a lifetime.
He doesn’t ask for much—
Just strength.
Just love.
Just a blessing for the journey ahead.

Because although they lost their mother…

They still have each other.

And he is determined to protect her with everything he has left inside.