As long as the sky is blue

Chapter Twelve

The ray of the sun peeked in from the little part the blinds didn't cover. The surprising thing was that it had enough force to wake me up. I squirmed and turned to the other side, my back turned to avoid it's light. All of a sudden, my heartbeat accelerated subconsciously, decoding a message to my brain, I couldn't pinpoint it for the life of me.

Slowly and with full effect, my brain got the message. The time on my phone read 6:30am, thank heavens! I slipped out of my bed faster than a lightning bolt, sprinting out of my room to check on my son. Perhaps we'd get to shower together or no, that would impede my decision to get ready in time. I'd just bathe him and then get in the shower after. I walked into Minho's room to see his bed unkempt and my son missing. The noise from his mini-closet alerted me of his whereabouts, bee-lining for his closet, I was left astonished seeing my son already dressed and fumbling with his shoe lace, with the top of his tongue sticking out his mouth while he worked-with difficulty-on the puzzle in shoe lace disguise. I was so fascinated and proud of him that he knew how special today would be and had gotten the idea to get dressed. The thought would have made me culpable had I not remembered that it was difficult for me to go to sleep last night. If I had slept early, I'd definitely had woken up earlier.

My shadow zoomed around him, informing him of my presence. He looked up and seeing me, a toothy grin lit up his face. I beamed right back.

"Wedding!!!" He said, like it was the answer to everything. Truly, it was! I bent down and ruffled his hair, then I I helped him tie his show lace properly. He was wearing his tux, the only thing missing was his tie. I looked around and found the black tie peeking underneath his fancy crocs slip-on shoe. I hurriedly help him knot it and then led him to his bathroom where I helped gel his hair and applied some mild children fragrance on him to make the whole look complete.

"You look really handsome, my boy." He looked like a child replica of Nick Jonas with the way his hair was gelled back and his tux complemented his German skin. "Come with me!" We walked side by side back to my room so I could take a shower while he watched Nickelodeon on the flat screen TV situated at the far end of the wall opposite the bed. I didn't want him to stay in his room fearing he'd play with his toys and ruin his appearance. While he watched, I left him to shower, taking a little extra time to shave and wash my hair. When I was done, I went into my closet where my tux and shoes were waiting for me. I opted on black bowtie instead of the usual long necktie. My hair had grown a little these few days but it was still a buzz cut so I combed it only, applied some male cologne. A couple minutes later, I was a done and so, for a moment, I studied myself through my reflection in the mirror. I wondered what my wife-to-be actually saw in me. I was a regular Asian guy who didn't have the flawless look of a celebrity. For my age, I could still be defined as handsome and young but I had once pulled out a strand of grey hair from my head. That day, I was scared shitless in realization that old age was fast approaching.

I exited my closet and went over where my phone was charging. It was fully charged therefore, I unplugged it. While I was about to put it into my pocket, it pinged, signalling a text message. I quickly checked and saw that it was a message from my mum.

"Go to your big black luggage, check underneath one of its inner pockets now!" it said in fluent Korean. Wow even miles away, I could feel the effects of her command. I dashed quickly back into my closet where the travelling bag was kept, checked it pockets and found a small red jewellery box. A small note was tucked on top of it, secured by a white ribbon. I loosened the ribbon and opened the note to read it content;

"결혼 선물로 생각하십시오. 아프리카로 여행하기 전날 밤 짐에 보관했습니다. 그것을 어머니의 직관이라고 부르지 만 나는 당신이 예상보다 빨리 그것을 필요로한다는 것을 알았습니다. 축하합니다 아들. 나는 당신이 너무 자랑스럽고 사랑합니다. -침묵."