When the room went dark, she heard her name. 

It was soft at first, barely above a whisper, carried on the wind like a memory.

She wasn't even sure she'd actually heard it to be honest and had turned back over to drift off to sleep...when she heard it again.

'Mama!'

Eyes flying open, she gasped and sat up in bed, peering out into the darkness, scanning her bedroom.

This time, she'd heard it!

Sliding out of bed slowly, she padded quietly across the carpet and approached her bedroom door, which she had left open a few inches to listen for her son.

Not immediately seeing him beside her bedside, she stepped out into the dimly lit hallway. 

It was still quite early in the morning, the sun wasn't even attempting to wake anyone up yet. 

'Mama!'

She gasped and whipped her head to the right, glancing down the hallway, passed her son's closed bedroom door; she thought she saw movement but it could have been her eyes playing tricks on her in the darkness.

She headed down the hallway, pausing to check on her still sleeping son, before walking towards her kitchen, the low light above the stove casting an eerie glow.

'Mama!'

She gasped again, spinning around, she felt her heart race, her blood pounding in her ears. 

There, rolling ever so slowly down the hallway, was one of her daughter's favourite red bouncy balls.

Tears started flowing down her face as she sank to her knees in shock.

Glancing up at the beautiful memorial she had created for their daughter, she whispered, "Hi Baby Girl. Mama misses you more than you can ever know."

She reached out, her hand shaking visibly, as she picked up her daughter's bouncy ball, cradling it in her hands.

"This was one of your favourites, Baby Girl, and definitely a favourite to throw at your big brother."

Letting her tears flow freely, feeling that deep ache within herself grow in the moment, she felt her soul searching for it's missing piece.

Opening her eyes, she glanced back down the hallway, seeing the door to the toy room open, and stared down at the red ball in her hands, a small smile forming on her face.

Rising slowly and wiping tears haphazardly off her cheeks, she walked down the hallway towards the open doorway, pausing at the entrance to peer inside the bright room.

"I could have sworn I closed those blinds last night," she murmured out loud to herself, glancing at the large windows. The toy room was brightly lit from the nearby streetlamps, casting ominous shadows back at her.

Entering the room, she flicked on the light and surveyed the area, noting how her son had forgotten to put a few toys back in their respective bins.

Shaking her head and smirking to herself, she crossed the room and bent down to grab a toy truck laying on its side, when she could have sworn she saw a flash of movement out of the corner of her left eye.

Gasping loudly, she jerked her body to the left, causing her to strike the toy truck with her bare toes painfully.

"Shit!" She hissed, dropping the red ball and grabbing her toes in pain, hopping slightly on one foot.

After a few moments, the pain was barely noticeable, an annoying throbbing sensation.

She checked to make sure she hadn't broken a nail and then set her foot down cautiously, wiggling her toes.

A small giggle broke her focus and she shot her head up to stare at her son's indoor tent he had gotten one year for Christmas. 

The front flap was fully closed, something he hated doing himself so she knew her son didn't unroll it.

Approaching cautiously, she bent down and peeled back the front flap of the little tent. She was immediately greeted with dozens of pairs of eyes from her son's dozens of accumulated stuffed animals he kept in his 'zoo tent'.

Letting out a small sigh of relief, she shook her head and crawled inside, letting the flap of the tent fall flat behind her, closing herself inside the tent.

Finding the largest animals first, she set up a little lounge area and collapsed on top of the fluffy pile.

Laying there quietly, she stared up at the small starry ceiling of her son's dinosaur tent, surrounded by all of her son's favourite stuffed animals. She smiled seeing her a couple of her daughter's favourites amongst the assortment and reached for the pink bear, which her son had aptly given the name 'Pink Bear'.

Pink Bear was very special to everyone, more so now than ever before. Her son took great care of Pink Bear and she even had her own outfits now!

Smiling, she sat Pink Bear on her chest, playing with her tiny arms the way she used to with her daughter.

'Mama!' She heard her name again, and imagined her daughter laying there with her, playing amongst the stuffed animals.

"I wish you were still here, Baby Girl...I wish I could hold you tight and never let you go..." she whispered, feeling a single tear slide down her cheek. She closed her eyes as she thought she felt a small hand wipe away her tear. "You will always be part of our family, Baby Girl. We will see you again. And I'm not going to stop calling your name. You were here. You existed. You will always be loved. I wanted to show you the world, Baby Girl. Show you all the fun parts about being a girl. I guess I'll just have to wait a little longer, right?"

She drifted off to sleep, face still damp from her tears, surrounded by her children's favourite stuffed animals, dreaming of her daughter chasing her big brother around the house like they used to. 

The day won't be an easy one, they rarely are anymore, but for now, she could get lost in her dreams of her daughter and all the adventures she wished she could have experienced with her.