This story begins when I was a child: I was born poor. Often we hadn't
enough to eat. Whenever we had some food, Mother often gave me her
portion of rice.
While she was transferring her rice into my bowl, she would say "Eat
this rice, son! I'm not hungry." This was Mother's First Lie.
As I grew, Mother gave up her spare time to fish in a river near our
house; she hoped that from the fish she caught, she could give me a
little bit more nutritious food for my growth.
Once she had caught just two fish, she would make fish soup. While I
was eating the soup, mother would sit beside me and eat the what was
still left on the bone of the fish I had eaten, My heart was touched
when I saw it.
Once I gave the other fish to her on my chopstick but she immediately
refused it and said, "Eat this fish, son! I don't really like fish. "
This was Mother's Second Lie.
Then, in order to fund my education, Mother went to a Match Factory to
bring home some used matchboxes, which she filled with fresh
matchsticks. This helped her get some money to cover our needs. One
wintry night I awoke to find Mother filling the matchboxes by candle
light.
So I said,"Mother, go to sleep; it's late: you can continue working
tomorrow morning." Mother smiled and said "Go to sleep, son! I'm not
tired. " This was Mother's Third Lie. When I had to sit my Final
Examination, Mother accompanied me. After dawn, Mother waited for me
for hours in the heat of the sun.
When the bell rang, I ran to meet her.. Mother embraced me and poured
me a glass of tea that she had prepared in a thermos. The tea was not
as strong as my Mother's love, Seeing Mother covered with
perspiration, I at once gave her my glass and asked her to drink too.
Mother said "Drink, son! I'm not thirsty!". This was Mother's Fourth
Lie.After Father's death, Mother had to play the role of a single
parent. She held on to her former job; she had to fund our needs
alone. Our family's life was more complicated. We suffered from
starvation. Seeing our family's condition worsening, my kind Uncle who
lived near my house came to help us solve our problems big and small.
Our other neighbours saw that we were poverty stricken so they often
advised my mother to marry again. But Mother refused to remarry saying
"I don't need love. " This was Mother's Fifth Lie…………. After I had
finished my studies and gotten a job, it was time for my old Mother to
retire but she carried on going to the market every morning just to
sell a few vegetables.
I kept sending her money but she was stead fast and even sent the
money back to me. She said, "I have enough money. " That was Mother's
Sixth Lie.
I continued my part-time studies for my Master's Degree. Funded by the
American Corporation for which I worked, I succeeded in my studies.
With a big jump in my salary, I decided to bring Mother to enjoy life
in America but Mother didn't want to bother her son; she said to
me"I'm not used to high living.
" That was Mother's Seventh Lie.
In her dotage, Mother was attacked by cancer and had to be
hospitalized. Now living far across the ocean, I went home to visit
Mother who was bed ridden after an operation.
Mother tried to smile but I was heart broken because she was so thin
and feeble but Mother said,"Don't cry, son! I'm not in pain. " That
was Mother's Eighth Lie. Telling me this, her eighth lie, she died.
YES, MOTHER WAS AN ANGEL!
M – O – T – H – E – R .
"M" is for the Million things she gave me,
"O" means Only that she's growing old,
"T" is for the Tears she shed to save me,
"H" is for her Heart of gold,
"E" is for her Eyes with love-light shining in them,
"R" means Right, and right she'll always be,
Put them all together, they spell "MOTHER" a word that means the world to me.
