Mother's Love

When I was ten years old, I went through a period during which I would huddle in bed, trembling with fear of the ghostly visitations.
And every night, my mother would come to my bedside, and run her fingers through my hair as I shivered, attempting to soothe me.
When that didn't work, she would whisper into my ear, "Mommy's here. There's nothing to be afraid of."
She'd do that right up until I passed out from sheer exhaustion, and then she'd leave.
All of that would have been helpful, if my mother hadn't died more than a year earlier.