It’s a beautiful spring day. Well, it should be beautiful, but I can’t really see the beauty of it when my eyes are watering like crazy due to the never-ending sneezes that wrack my body. Allergies, most likely. The funny thing is, I don’t remember ever suffering from allergies… before today.
“Mommy!” I turn my head towards the little girl’s voice. The cutest little girl I have ever seen, with bouncy dark brown curls and sparkling eyes, runs toward me. As her mother, I may be a little biased, but what kind of doting parent doesn't see their daughter through rose-tinted glasses?
“Mommy, hold my hand!” The darling holds her chubby little hand up to me, her cherry red lips puckering into an adorable pout. “I want to walk with you and Daddy.”
Daddy? I had somehow forgotten that it takes two to make a baby. Looking up, I see that a man is holding my daughter’s other hand. Although I can’t see his face clearly, I can sense that he’s smiling tenderly down at our creation. A surge of warmth spreads throughout my body from my heart, and I feel at peace. This is my family, I think. A family all of my own. A family that I will do anything to protect.
“Daddy, I’m hungry!” Our little girl shouts, jumping up and down, pulling on both of our hands.
“All right, all right.” The mystery man laughs. “Where do you want to go?” My head immediately whips from my daughter to the man. That voice sounds so familiar…
“I want pancakes!”
“Are pancakes okay with you, Momiji?” The man turns to me. The fog that seems to obscure his face lifts, and I see Hiro - the Hiro that my best friend Yukiko likes, the Hiro that is always gross and lame - looking back at me. Oh my god. Hiro is the father of my child?
“NO WAY!” I jerk awake, my eyes flashing open.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Hiro glances over at me, maneuvering the steering wheel of the car easily. “Bad dream?”
It was only a dream, I reassure myself as I groggily blink my eyes. “How long was I out?”
“About an hour ago.” Hiro replies. “Thanks a lot for conking out on me, by the way. You know how boring it gets driving on a freeway where the only scenery is desert?”
I ignore his snarky comments, idly thinking, I will never have a child with this man. But I feel a strange sense of loss. Even though it was only a dream, I genuinely wanted to protect that family of mine.
“How strange.” I rub my eyes as I yawn. “I kind of want to see that little girl again…”
It’s a beautiful spring day. Well, it should be beautiful, but I can’t really see the beauty of it when my eyes are watering like crazy due to the never-ending sneezes that wrack my body. Allergies, most likely. The funny thing is, I don’t remember ever suffering from allergies… before today.
ReplyDelete“Mommy!” I turn my head towards the little girl’s voice. The cutest little girl I have ever seen, with bouncy dark brown curls and sparkling eyes, runs toward me. As her mother, I may be a little biased, but what kind of doting parent doesn't see their daughter through rose-tinted glasses?
“Mommy, hold my hand!” The darling holds her chubby little hand up to me, her cherry red lips puckering into an adorable pout. “I want to walk with you and Daddy.”
Daddy? I had somehow forgotten that it takes two to make a baby. Looking up, I see that a man is holding my daughter’s other hand. Although I can’t see his face clearly, I can sense that he’s smiling tenderly down at our creation. A surge of warmth spreads throughout my body from my heart, and I feel at peace. This is my family, I think. A family all of my own. A family that I will do anything to protect.
“Daddy, I’m hungry!” Our little girl shouts, jumping up and down, pulling on both of our hands.
“All right, all right.” The mystery man laughs. “Where do you want to go?” My head immediately whips from my daughter to the man. That voice sounds so familiar…
“I want pancakes!”
“Are pancakes okay with you, Momiji?” The man turns to me. The fog that seems to obscure his face lifts, and I see Hiro - the Hiro that my best friend Yukiko likes, the Hiro that is always gross and lame - looking back at me. Oh my god. Hiro is the father of my child?
“NO WAY!” I jerk awake, my eyes flashing open.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Hiro glances over at me, maneuvering the steering wheel of the car easily. “Bad dream?”
It was only a dream, I reassure myself as I groggily blink my eyes. “How long was I out?”
“About an hour ago.” Hiro replies. “Thanks a lot for conking out on me, by the way. You know how boring it gets driving on a freeway where the only scenery is desert?”
I ignore his snarky comments, idly thinking, I will never have a child with this man. But I feel a strange sense of loss. Even though it was only a dream, I genuinely wanted to protect that family of mine.
“How strange.” I rub my eyes as I yawn. “I kind of want to see that little girl again…”
Công Cha, Nghĩa Mẹ (The Efforts of Fathers, The Devotions of Mothers)
ReplyDeleteĐời người sinh ra, ai mà không cha không mẹ. Biết quý hay không mấy là chuyện đáng kể.
When you are born, who doesn't have parents? Whether or not you cherish them, now that's a story worth telling.