Emi was at work after a long weekend. Eight hours of teaching her little kiddos in finding their voice and their way of talking. It was a constant treasure hunt to find what her patients wanted. Did they want to practice using their physical voice? Or did they prefer to use a device until they were ready to speak?
It was hard at times as the parents wanted something for their children to live a normal life, but also wanted their children to be a true version of themselves. However, the moments that she looked to were often ones where her patients smiled or told her to do something, on their own accord. She would often think of her reactions to their requests for their favorite toy or even to tell her to stop playing with them.
As she finished her session with her final patient of the day, she returned to her office and found a bouquet of flowers on her desk. "Okay, was not expecting that. Who is this from?" Emi asked herself out loud. She searched for any thing resembling a note or a card. Nothing.
Emi headed to the front desk and asked the front desk personnel, Ollie, for the sender's name or even what company it came from. However, all Ollie could give her was a note that said, "Please check your email for a message."
Ollie then added, "It seemed creepy, so I wanted to make sure the flowers were safe, which they were. I called my dad to check them out, since his patrol came by here today. He said that he would be ready to help if anything comes up when you open the email."
Emi examined the card and it looked the flowers were ordered online and sent by someone in the States. "Thank you so much, Ollie, for being so proactive. I'll check out the email and let you know what comes up. Hopefully, it's not some weirdo. I do not need that right now."
"Oh yeah, your last performance was great with Kai and Lia. I cannot wait for this week's stream. Can I have a clue about what I get to watch?"
"Unfortunately, we are not having a stream this week or next. I will be in Korea for a few weeks for my father's death anniversary and will be bringing my mom's urn to be buried with him. We have some video uploads going up. There has been so much filming over the weekend that we basically have enough content for the next couple of weeks." Ollie was excited to hear about the videos being posted up, but she looked forward to seeing that side of Emi live. Ollie had seen her speech pathologist side since they first met, but it was great seeing this side of Emi, the one where her smile radiated a little differently than when she as at work.
"Oh, Emi, that audition that you went to. Any word on that?" Ollie asked in excitement, hoping for good news.
"They said they would get back to me by this week. I still cannot believe that Lia signed me up for that. She handed me the script and said I had an hour to memorize it."
"Well, she did not give you much time to think about it. You always tell me that when your kiddos think about an exercise too long they get scared on how well they will do. So that should apply to you too."
"You know what, Ollie. You're right. Thanks for that reminder." Emi smiled as she went back to her office to open this dreaded email.
"All right, let's just get this over with." She opened her work email and saw several unopened emails. The usual ones that had new studies to check out and devices to have in the office (that in all honesty should be in operations manager's email). Scrolling through more of her inbox, she finally found an email that seemed out of place. The sender name was the last person she expected: Jason.
"How the hell did he find me?" Emi opened the email to a video as the attachment.
'I swear to god, if this is some sick shit....' Emi thought as she opened the video to find him on a couch, getting ready to give a sermon or some a lecture. She called Ollie into her office to watch it with, at least, a trusted witness. Ollie held her hand for some sort of support. She played the video:
Jason: Hey Emi. I know this is coming out of nowhere, but I wanted to try one more time to properly apologize for how we left things. I know you do not see me in your future, but maybe I can be in your life as friend. Someone who knows you. I hope you enjoy the flowers. I felt it best that I send some flowers rather than food [Ollie commented that food would have been much better, because she knew Emi would share] and I never got to send you that. And, man, I'm rambling [Emi responded with 'no shit, you are']. I miss you, Em. I regret all that I did and —
Emi ended the video, blocked his email, and placed the flowers in the compost bin the small kitchen area. "Just a repeat of what he told me over six months ago." Ollie applauded her actions and gave her fist bump for not even indulging Jason. "Well, will you look at that, Em? A couple of minutes of my life wasted and we made it to the end of the day." They both laughed.
"Ollie, I'm off tomorrow and then will head to Korea. So I will personally tell you if I hear what the casting team says. Have a great night and relax. You've worked hard today."
Emi walked to the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) stop and hopped on. It did not take much time to head home and she was always grateful for the short commutes as she had more time to do things at home with Pabu. She headed to her front door and found a little gift basket on her door step. "Shit, you have to got be fucking kidding me. How the hell did he find my house?" Emi picked up the gift basket and ordered Pabu to open the door. She did not hear Pabu's footsteps approach and worried for her dog. She quickly grabbed used her keys and rushed in.
She found Pabu sitting on the couch with a little party hat and his expression eager to see her. Looking to the kitchen, the table was set with a variety of entrees and desserts.
Emi entered living room more cautiously now. Suddenly, Kai came running out from her left with a camera. Lia from the right with balloons. Charles came from the bathroom and picked her up. Emi flinched at their sudden approaches and nearly elbowed Charles in the face. Luckily, she saw his face before her elbow buried itself in his face.
"What the hell!" Emi struggled to get the words out as Charles kept attempting to toss her in the air.
Her three intruders yelled, "Congrats!" Emi was obviously confused at this point. What were they congratulating her on?
"You got the part. They want you in for the screen test to meet your cast mates. They said the chemistry you had with the cast was great."
"Wait, what? When?" Emi held Lia and Charles' hand.
Lia answered, "After you come back from Korea. We already to talked to your boss and your team about the potential shift in careers. They are happy for you. I cannot believe they did not tell you at all this week."
"Wait, are you telling me Ollie knew this entire time?" Lia nodded.
"But what about my kiddos? They've been making such great progress."
"We knew that would be something that you would prioritize. Your teammates have already taken your sessions and informed the families. The families knew before you too actually. These are their cards to you, since we could not ask them for videos."
"Will I get to say goodbye to them before —" Before Emi could finish her sentence, Lia assured her that everything was already in place. She just needed to focus on her trip to Korea. She processed all that Lia had laid out for her. Finally taking in the news, Emi's excitement built up more.
"I got it! I got it!" She jumped up and down, hugging Lia and Kai, who was still filming. Then she embraced Charles who held her in a tight hug.
Charles took out a small bouquet of lavender as they say down to eat. "Thanks for being here."
"I am so proud of you, Em. This is going to be a great adventure."
"I hope so. I can't wait to get back from Korea."
"Hold up, hold up. Be excited for that. You haven't been to Korea in awhile. You three will be reunited for the first time in years."
Lia and Kai kept eating as the two best friends spoke about the Korea trip. It was always entertaining to see these two speak.
"You're right, thanks for coming with me." Emi posed for the selfie that Kai was setting up.
Kai posted this picture on social media, captioned: To a new adventure for us all.
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Threads and Strings
Fanfiction"I know there will be more people in your life that will be become more than someone you pass by." As a speech pathologist working with little kids, Emi Kim had been through enough in her 24 years of life that could have broke her, especially in 201...
