"Mom, I'm gay."

As he began the most difficult conversation he had ever had with his mother, the shock on her face was as evident as the denial in her eyes."Mom, I just...I couldn't...please don't be upset. I'm sorry. "His mumbling was a far cry from the well-rehearsed speech he had prepared that had evaporated from his mind faster than water droplets on a sizzling hot pan. "I didn't want to hurt you but I was feeling so suffocated. Besides, I didn't want you to get to know about this from someone else." This was not how he wanted this conversation go to. He had meant to break it to her slowly; he wanted to take his time walking her through the piece of information that was sure to shatter a part of her heart.She had been a mother for twenty years, and a single parent for nineteen of them. After his father's death, she had taken on the role of both his parents; refusing to remarry, refusing to accept any help in bringing him up. They had always been close but, somehow, he only gathered the courage to come out to her now.He had pictured this scenario in his head a thousand times, preparing himself for every form of her anger and outrage; but he was not prepared for her silence, which was now killing him."Mom, say something. Please," whispering, he gently pressed her hand. His voice and touch broke her reverie and she looked at him, the hurt still evident in her eyes. Freeing her hand from his hold, she went to her room, closing the door firmly behind her.

He didn't realise when his silent tears took the form of sobs; maybe it was when he heard her sobs from behind the closed door. Hugging his knees, he rocked himself to comfort, but nothing gave him the warmth that he needed at that moment...her warmth. After what felt like an eternity, he heard the door open. His eyes went to the clock that told him that it had been just three hours since he had died a thousand deaths. She walked towards him and sat on the floor right next to where he was sitting. Taking his hand in hers, she finally spoke, "I failed. I failed as a parent." Her words broke his already broken heart into a million pieces. The tears that had barely dried a few moment back resurfaced and pooled in his eyes. He opened his mouth to say something but the pain in his heart overpowered every other thought. "How could I leave my child alone when he needed me the most?" her voice was gentle. "I'm so sorry. I should've reacted better. How could I not support you in this? I always tell you that I love you with all my heart, then how could I not understand your angst? Please forgive me for making you go through this. But all is not lost. If I'm going to support and stand up for you, then I'm going to make sure I do this right. Maybe a support group for parents of LGBTQ+ children would help. Do you know of one?" The tears that ditched his shocked eyes this time were those of relief, comfort and liberation. He no longer cared about the world, for he had the love and acceptance of the one person who meant the world to him.