My Mom had only one eye. I hated her— she was such an embarrassment. My mom ran a small shop at a flea market. She collected little weeds to sell… anything for the money we needed, she was such an embarrassment.
There was this one day in elementary school; I remember that it was a field day, and my mom came. I was so embarrassed. How could she do this to me? I threw her a hateful look and ran out. The next day at school—-” Your mom has only one eye?!” and they taunted me.
I wished that my mom would just disappear from this world so I said to my mom, “Mom, why don’t you have the other eye?! You are only going to make me laughing stock. Why don’t you just die?” My mom did not respond. I felt little bad, but at the same time, I felt good to think that I had said what I’d wanted to say all the time. May be it was because my mom hadn’t punished me, but I didn’t think that I had hurt her feelings very badly.
That night I woke up and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. My mom was crying there, so quietly, as if she was afraid that she might wake me. I took a look at her, and then turned away. Because of the thing I had said to her earlier, there was something pinching at me in the corner of my heart. I told myself that I have to grow up and become successful, as I hated my mom and our poverty.
I started studying very hard and left my mother. I went to Seoul and studied with lot of confidence and got accepted in the Seoul University. I became successful, got married and had children.
Now I was a very happy and contended man, and the place did not remind me of my mother. This happiness was getting bigger and bigger when all of a sudden someone unexpected came to my house, I was shocked so see that it was my mother, still with one eye and I could not stand her. On her sight my daughter also got scared and ran away from there. I was very angry to see my mom again and that is why I pretended of not knowing who she is and threw her out of my house. Thank God she did not recognize me and I was relieved. I thought I will not think about it, all my life.
One day I got a letter regarding a school reunion and I desperately wanted to go to meet my old buddies. I lied to my wife that I am going for a business trip and I went to my school.
After the function I thought of just going to that dirty shack, my old house, where I lived with my ugly looking mom. As I entered the house I saw my mom was lying dead on the floor and there was this letter in her hands.
I went and took that letter which was written for me, by my mother. She wrote, “My dearest son…I think my life has been long enough now, and I will not visit Seoul any more…but would it be too much to ask if I wanted you to come to meet me one in a while? I miss you so much. I was so glad to know that you were coming for the reunion but I decided not to go to the school…For you I am sorry that I have only one eye and I was an embarrassment for you. You know when you were very small, you had met with an accident due to which you lost one eye and I could not watch you grow up with one eye, so I decided to give you one of mine. I wanted you be perfect so that you can live your life with confidence. I was always happy with one eye because my happiness was in you. Sometimes when you were upset and got angry with me I thought it is may be because you love me so much that you can’t see me like this. I always wanted you to be around me as you were my life my only love. I miss you so much. You mean the whole world to me”.
After reading this letter my whole world just shattered!!! I was in deep pain, feeling guilty and embarrassed.
Love your parents, give them all the happiness, be kind to them, respect them, adore them, take care of them, make them feel secure in your presence and never ever leave them alone. You will regret, because, once they are gone, they will never come back.
Source – Some Newspaper
Image Source – Pinkoddy.wordpress.com
Inspirational Daily 