By: Faith Jang
A teenage girl stood silently, staring at a tombstone that marked where someone close to
her now rests. The person who lay there had died trying to save her, but it didn’t make any
sense. She had done something foolish, yet that person ran to save her, and it cost that
person’s life. Would it not have been better if she perished in the incident instead of that
person?
The girl turned away, her feet cold as she traversed what remained of winter. Yet, the
branches of the trees and bushes remained barren. Although the snow lightened up, the frost
still remained, and life was still buried. The whistling of the wind carries a blade that cuts her as
she breathes. The splatting of snow hitting the ground from the branches that once carried it.
The whining- Wait, whining? The girl followed the noise to see the frozen corpse of a young
woman. Perhaps it was just the cries of the deceased.
The girl turned around only to hear another shriek. Intrigued, she crouches down to the
body and moves it a little. To see a small baby wrapped in the lady’s arms… Was that her child?
Why was the mother so adamant to save her baby’s life that she lost hers? The girl shook her
head as she lifted the child from the ground. Well, the girl was the reason for a person’s death,
and so was this infant, but hers was out of stupidity, unlike this baby.
“I took a life and, in return, must give this child a chance at it. Fair’s fair,” the girl stated
before walking home with the child.
~O~
The girl had now become a young woman herself as a little boy ran around the house.
The toddler laughed loudly as she chased him. He was such a pain to her, and he would
constantly play around with her stuff. Why couldn’t children just stay still? Finally, she caught up
to him and sighed.
“Why can’t you just stay still so I can get you changed and ready for bed?” the woman
remarked, exasperated.
“I want to be with you!” the boy stated, giggling with a smile.
To that, she only let out another sigh and grabbed his hand before getting him ready for
bed. As she put the covers over him, he sniffed. He held his stuffed animal and looked at her
with puppy eyes.
“Me and Mr. Snuggles want a bedtime story!” he exclaimed, raising his doll in the air.
entranced in it. When she finally was done and put the book down, she could see he was fast
asleep.
“Heh,” she smiled and kissed him on the forehead, “Goodnight.”
~O~
As she came to her late twenties, the boy was now old enough to go to school. It was
the first day of the school year, so she was getting him ready for the big day ahead. He was so
excited to hang out with his friends during recess and show off his cool new bag to everyone.
“I love you this much!” the boy announces, moving his tiny arms as far apart as he can.
“I miss you whenever I leave. Do you miss me when I am gone?”
“Of course I do,” she replies sweetly, “I will see you after school, okay?”
“Okay!”
As she handed him his lunch bag, he gave her a kiss on the cheek before running
outside.
~O~
“I hate you!” the boy, now a teenager, yells.
The woman was now in her thirties as she and the boy had an argument. They were
fighting over his bad behavior and low grades in class. The argument had been going on for
hours, with both of them being stubborn. In anger, she went outside for a walk and reached a
familiar tombstone.
“I don’t know what to do!” she sobbed into her hands.
She felt like a failure, for she hated yelling at him, but she did it anyway. Why did she
have to be like this? Why couldn’t she just be better? Tears continue to roll down her cheeks
before she wipes her eyes. She couldn’t let him see her like this when she got home. As she
turned around, she glanced one more time at the grave and sighed.
“You’re right. I should just listen to him…” she states to herself.
As she walked home, she noticed the smell of smoke and ran home to see everything on
fire. Even in shock, she rushed into the burning building to see the boy trapped under a burning
bookcase. He looked at her weakly as she tried lifting up to rubble. Her hands were searing, but
she ignored the pain. She hyperventilated but still did not let go. Only barely did she move it,
just high enough. He narrowly crawled out when she started coughing, falling to the floor as he
dragged her out. After escaping the remains of their home, the boy laid her against a tree as
she continued wheezing.
“I am so sorry…” he cried, “I didn’t mean to-”
“I know, and I am also sorry,” she replied, reaching towards his face, “I just wish I was
better to you… That is my only regret.”
“No, you were the best I could have asked for!” he grabbed her palm as he sobbed.
“That means so much more than you know to me. I love you…”
Now she knows why that young woman was so adamant to save the baby. She
understands why her own mother saved her that day.
“I only hope my son knows the snow will clear one day…”
