Vienna, March 13, 2000

 

I finished this book on February 22nd. Three days later Omama suffered a stroke. I took a taxi from the airport to the hospital. When she saw me she grabbed my hand and smiled with only one side of her face. The right side of her body was paralyzed. I sit beside her bed every day and caress her. Her skin is so soft. She looks up at me like a little girl and sometimes she smiles. She can no longer speak. Her breath fills the room.