X :: Sour and Sweet

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"When the sun's down,
Do you think of me?
When you're all alone,
Do you sometimes wish
That you and I were back
To our teens?

Do you remember the
Azure skies we sat under,
The warm summer we played through,
And the cold winds of the monsoon?

Does it ever feel a little lonely
That you're not with me?
Or am I the only one
Still waiting?"

⊱ ───ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ─── ⊰

"Mama, let it be. How long are you going to keep standing there?"

"Until the sky sleeps, until the sun sleeps, until I sleep."

"Mama, that man left you! He's never coming back! You can't keep sitting on that bench under that same lamppost in this chill. It'll snow tonight!"

The young maiden had grown up and while she was right that the weather was getting no better, her mother was the genetic genesis after all.

The pure old eyes of the 50 something year old woman stared at the far end of the street where the last house seemed to dissolve in the horizon.

She still remembered that face. That face which asked her to stay awake and wait for him. That only face that she cherished so much, that only face she wanted in her arms. That face.

"Mama, why do you keep coming back when he doesn't care to? The war ended decades ago. There's nobody left. There's no one fighting anymore."

"Gah! That's a lie. There's still some fighting, still some waiting. A promise made to God is your biggest responsibility. I promised God that I will wait. He will come back. He..." The woman wiped her tears. Her 28 year old daughter tried to hug her, make her warm. But the woman was adamant that the night had still some time until the sun showed up.

"Mama, I'll be going back to my college. I got a job. I'm leaving tomorrow. Would your love of life want you to not spend the rest of the night with your daughter?"

"But, what if today is the day? What if he was waiting for me to turn 50 and see his daughter be successful? What if it's all supposed to be today?"

"It'll not! It'll not be that, mama. You've known him for only 20 years of your life. You've nurtured me for 28 years! Does a coward man matter more to you?"

"Lee Ju Gyeong! Mind your language! It is your father you're talking about!"

"Father? Bullshit! Father is not a simple term. Anyone cannot be a father. Father takes responsibilities. Father becomes the backbone. What did your boyfriend do? What?! Give you some untimely sperms to produce me? Is that what you call a father?!"

"Ju Gyeong!"

"What? Why do you keep calling my name? Ju Gyeong, this. Ju Gyeong, that. Ju Gyeong, Ju Gyeong. How long?! He left you, ma! He is no more! He left you intentionally or unintentionally. But he left you! He left me!"

The older woman remained unheard, silent. Tears threatened to fall, glistening at the lower edge of her foggy eyes, old like time.

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