Sparks and Smiles

Beautiful Things We Love

"Before the beautiful things we love

  Become the beautiful things we miss"

The gravel crunched under his shoes and the breeze ruffled his hair as he made his way to his destination. 

A bouquet of plum blossoms and orchids were clenched in one had as he made a visit that was long overdue. 

The air was quiet and peaceful as he arrived.

He stopped as soon as he found what he was looking for. 

As he read the golden characters that spelt out "Dao Ming Cheng", his heart clenched.

Even after all this time.

He placed his bouquet of flowers down right before it. 

"Hi Bà" He breathed. 

"I'm sorry it took so long to come back. I couldn't bring myself to visit because it hurt so much, because I couldn't understand why the gods took you from us so early. But I am in a better place now."

"Everything fell apart after you died, you know? Even though you and Mā worked so often that you were rarely home, when you were, we felt like a family. We laughed like a family. We were happy. After you died, Mā changed. She became colder, distant, more harsh. She never smiled. She never showed us she loved us anymore. Zhuang had to grow up faster then she should have. She never got to enjoy being a teenager, being young. Despite that, she became the mother that Mā wasn't. Yeah, she would whack me a lot and disciplined me through the use of pumpkins, " here he shuddered in memory before continuing with a slight smile on his face, "but I knew she cared. I knew she worried about me. She would joke with me and was always proud when I did well and never was disappointed if I failed at something that was out of my control. She would simply pick me back up again."

"And then there were Lei, Xi Men and Mei Zuo. Do you remember them? They have become my brothers now. They have never given up on me. If it wasn't for them, for Zhuang and for Yu Sao, I don't know where I would be now after you were gone. They kept me going, from spiraling into an endless spiral of anger and depression. Especially after Mā left for London and never came back. After you died, she treated us more like employees then like her children. Zhuang lost the love of her life and was forced into a marriage with a man she never loved. I wonder if you had been there, if things would have been different. If she would have put her children first, cared about them instead of the family business."

He took a deep breath before continuing,

"My life changed because of one person. Her name is Shancai. I love her. She is my life. She is on my mind every second of every day. I feel like my life only had meaning once she entered it. She is this tiny person with big brown eyes and a beautiful smile. She is stubborn and bossy but so incredibly kind. In that way she reminds me of you. She makes amazing food and is always worried about my health. She has an unfailingly strong spirit and a mean left foot (even though she is probably the clumsiest person I have ever met). I think that is the moment I started falling in love with her, when she kicked me in the face. She hasn't left my mind or my heart since. And she loves me too. She sees past the name and the money, sees past my shields. She has stood by my side and never given up on me. Things don't feel as impossible when she is in my arms. She gives me energy and an infinite amount of happiness. I'm going to marry her. I cannot picture spending the rest of my life with anybody else. Next time I come visit, I will bring her I promise. You'll love her."

"My life is not the only life she has changed. Zhuang really likes her. She trained her for a cooking competition (which she won the Special Prize by the way). Zhuang smiles more now because of her. She has more of her old energy back in her. She considers Shancai almost like a little sister. Mā hated her at first. She thought that she was too common, that she was a gold digger. She hated her so much that she tried to arrange a marriage with the daughter of the He Group. She got the surprise of her life when it turned out that the He Group already knew Shancai and were very supportive of our relationship. Yu Sao and Zhuang helped her warm to Shancai and Shancai's spirit showed Mā that she was genuine and not going anywhere. They have a developing friendship and our business partners think Shancai is a refreshing addition to our family."

He gently ran his fingers over the bouquet at his father's grave,

"Your death left a hole in this family that I think has only started to heal. Shancai played a large part in healing that pain, especially for me. Mā is finally starting to show the kind person she was all those years ago, and she has recently decided to take a step back and see the world. I understand now how difficult it must have been to carry on when the love of your life is gone. I understand but I don't think I can forgive her for the way she treated us. Maybe someday, but not today. Nevertheless, we are slowly coming together as a family again, leaning on each other again, healing together, and I couldn't be more grateful."

"I have always wanted to make you proud. I hope that I have done so over the years, despite my temper. I know how much of your heart and soul you poured into the family business. So much so that it got you fatally sick. I won't let your hard work go to waste. Mā has done her best to uphold your work but she stretched the business too thin and made too many enemies. But Bà, I have a plan. A plan that will revitalize the Dao Ming Group and bring it into a new era of prosperity. But Bà, " And his voice was earnest as he stared determinedly at the headstone, as if looking right at his father, 

"I'm going to do things differently. I have this second chance at life and I am not going to waste it. I have realized now that the most important thing in life is the people around you, is family, friendship and love. I'm not going to let the family business interfere with me enjoying it. I can't let the beautiful things I love become the beautiful things I miss. I can't miss hearing about Shancai's day, holding her hand in mine, going off on little adventures just because she wants to, holding her as she sleeps, seeing her smile, hearing her say I love you. I can't miss our children's first steps, first words, first laughs. I don't want to miss a second of my life with Shancai, I don't want to miss a second of the lives of our children. I don't want the business to steal my life away before I can enjoy it to the fullest. I can thank Shancai because she is very determined to never see that happen, says she will make me live to 101 if its the last thing she does. I told her though that if she lives to 101, I want to live to 101 minus a day so I never live a day without her." Here he gave a laugh, remembering his girlfriend firmly saying those words with a jut of her chin, as she held out the lunch she made for him as he almost forgot to eat again that day.

"Because if you have taught me anything Bà, it is to love fiercely and hold onto the ones you love tightly and live every day to the fullest because every day with the ones you love is a gift. I love you and I miss you every day Bà. I hope that you are looking down upon me from heaven and smiling at your son. I will visit again soon."

With that he turned and walked away, feeling infinitely lighter, as if a huge burden had been lifted off his soul.

He suddenly felt a warm feeling engulf him, like one of those bear hugs his father used to give him every day when he would come home from work. He knew then that his father was looking after him from up in heaven and that he loved him and was proud of him. He smiled.

His heart and soul felt warmed when he walked away from the cemetery that day, away from the father he lost too young but carrying his father's love in his heart, as he walked into a future with the woman he loved. 

------

A/N: In Chinese culture, plum blossoms represent the value of endurance, inner strength, and unbending spirit. Orchids in Chinese culture symbolize integrity, nobility and friendship.  I thought both were very fitting flowers.