Without remorse, he sent his own mother to a care home just so he could have an apartment for himself.

The car rolled quietly along the slick country road, and Edith gazed deep into the woodland that lined the verge. Inside the car, her son sat at the wheel, and her daughter-in-law, Clara, beside him. Thoughts spun in Ediths headhow could her own son be sending her off to a nursing home? Where had she gone wrong in raising him? Perhaps she hadnt loved him enough, but shed always done everything for him and tried to give him a cheerful childhood. Yet, Anthony always had his own opinions.

One morning, he arrived with a bag packed full of various things. Edith sat in the kitchen, sipping her tea and nibbling on biscuits. He strode in confidently, tossed the parcel onto the floor, and said with a smile:

All right, Mumpack your things for the home. Youre leaving, youll be much better off there.

What home, Anthony? What are you talking about?

The care home. Ive already paid for six months with pounds, and Ill cover the rest soon. Your room is lovelyjust for you, no roommates. And the doctors there are brillianttheyll give you massages and other treatments, and your blood pressure is always checked on time. They serve meals five times a day. All in all, Mum, youll think its heaven on earth.

But Anthony, I dont want to go to any care home. I want to be with you, with my family, and I want to pass away in my own home.

Dont be difficult. Clara and I have thought it through, made the arrangements, and paid for everything. So dont act like a childget dressed, and lets have breakfast.

Poor Ediths heart ached, a tear slipped down her wrinkled face. She remembered how, when her son Anthony was small and scraped his knee, he nestled in her arms, crying and telling her, Mummy, Ill never leave you. His blue eyes looked deep into her green ones, and Ediths heart thumped because she believed her son was her future support. And so he was, for a time.

Suddenly, the boy with kind eyes had become an Anthony without compassion, who, without regret, dispatched his mother to a place called a care home.

As the car carried them onward, memories of first meeting Anthonys father returned. She remembered how theyd fallen in love at first sight, and planned their home and children together. Then, her first love passed away while she was six months pregnant.

Husband, who abandoned me? To whom?her thoughts and cries to her lost love grew louder in her mind, and her throat choked with tears of pain and grief.