The Wheel of Life

"I-I saw your papa there at-at the table. I saw your papa there . . . " the old woman reiterated and Sarah groaned in vexation.
Sarah's mother, a seventy-two-year-old woman had fallen victim to Alzheimer's disease and ever since then, Sarah was immersed in looking after her. The old woman was hallucinating again about her dead husband who passed away three years ago and she was getting quite petulant recently which infuriated Sarah. Sarah already had to keep an eye on her two little children and now the old woman who was no less than a pernickety child herself.
Sarah inhaled deeply, crouched in front of the wheelchair while trying to shove the spoonful of baked beans in the old woman's mouth.
"No! Your papa-papa is there! Look, your papa is back! Your papa---"
"Just swallow the blasted food!" Sarah interjected harshly and the old woman continued to squirm in the wheelchair, her frail arms flailing wildly and knocking over the enamel bowl of beans.
Sarah's eyes widened at the mess and her little finger twitched in annoyance. Suddenly, her toddler's cries and her four-year-old daughter, Lily's whines reverberated around the house. The house was in turmoil and absolute mayhem and Sarah was provoked to think of ways of getting rid of the old woman.
"Maa, little Johnny broke my doll so I hit him as a punishment, but now he wouldn't stop crying!" Lily blurted out and her own cries of repentance of smacking her baby brother boomed through the house.
"Your papa, your papa is there! Your papa---"
"Papa is dead!" Sarah yelled and the old woman conspicuously flinched in fear. Sarah unceremoniously pushed the wheelchair out of the house while impulsively continuing to roar, "Papa is dead, why don't you understand? I can't cope with you any more! Why don't you just die already? Now get out of my house and don't ever come back! Just get out!"
She looked once at the wrinkly face of the old woman and thoughtlessly slammed the door shut. The children had abruptly stopped crying due to their mother's raving outburst and cowered in trepidation. The house was eerily silent for a while until the telephone started to ring and Sarah stomped off to receive the call.
"Hey, listen. You can bring mum over tonight, my wife's back from Europe so she'll look after her for the next three months," her brother announced blithely and Sarah laughed almost hysterically which made him sceptical. "What happened? What did you do, sis?"
"Nothing, it's just that I kicked the old hag out of my house. I couldn't bear her any more." She snickered and heard her brother gasp in disbelief.
"How could you?"
"She's too difficult! She's so fussy about petty things and barely eats! She's---"
"She's your mother for God's sake!" Sarah's brother cut her off by raising his voice and her lips pursed into a grim line. "Out of all the people, I expected you to be patient with her. Don't you remember how she used to gently persist you to read and write when you were young because of your learning disability? How could you be so callous after all those years she spent struggling with you! How could you?"
Sarah vaguely remembered the wretched days of her childhood where everything seemed glum because of her disability and where everyone had given up or ridiculed her. Tears welled up in her eyes when she started reminiscing about her mother always smiling cheerfully and stoically assisting her with studies. A feeling of nostalgia washed over her and guilt gnawed her in the inside.
"I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have done that! I was so cruel to her!" Sarah broke down, finally realizing her foolishness and whimpered while averting her gaze to the French windows. "Oh no! It's getting stormy outside! I should bring her back home right now. I hope she's alright and I hope she forgives me, dear Lord."
She hurriedly cut the call, roughly wiped her tears and rushed outside the house, clutching an enormous umbrella tightly. The murky sky was painted with deep hues of blue and grey while rain poured down heavily and mercilessly. In spite of the umbrella, she was soaked to the bone and wistfully recalled that her mother was left bare with only a flimsy nightgown and shawl wrapped around her fragile body.
Sarah carelessly threw away the useless umbrella and scurried in the rainstorm, her eyes desperately searching for her dear mother. She glanced down the small hill and saw the wide river flowing swiftly, dread and terror settled in the pit of her stomach. She rolled down almost instinctively and braced herself for the impact of landing on the hard ground. 
Her vision turned obscure and her chest heaved up and down as a feeling of nausea swamped her. Her heart hammered against her chest as she dubiously approached the crippled wheelchair, her legs wobbling and lips quivering. She was on her knees within seconds as she wailed loudly, the wheel of the wheelchair still spinning due to the wind as if it was mocking her, for she had finally gotten rid of her mother.