Health for Life

September 21st, 1932 and on...

He knew this was coming, it was a sinking feeling he had. She had gone into labor too early, and the midwife had done everything that she could, but there was nothing else she could have done. Bora lay limp in our bed, sweat dappled her forehead and she had a peaceful expression on her face. As their son had been born she had been able to see him and hold him for only a minute before the light went out of her eyes. The stress of the birth had been too much for her. Haneul had sat by her bedside the entire time holding her hand and telling her that it would be okay, all the while tears she couldn't see quietly spilled down his face. He looked from the little baby boy he was holding in his hands to his love's face and he felt an overwhelming sense of loss but also a tint of happiness, he was a father, and he was carrying part of her with him. His life would never be the same again. Haneul decided to name their son Seong, meaning complete or finished, for Bora's life was finally whole.

It was also on that day that he noticed a tingling sensation in his hands, when he looked he saw the start of small sores forming on the back of his hand.

Seong grew up, and Haneul took precautions to make sure that he grew up to be a healthy child. He took his first steps and said is first words, but he didn't have any friends. The townspeople didn't understand why a man and his healthy son would be living in a town like this, but to Haneul, the answer was easy. He was staying with his wife. It would hurt too much to leave her. People looked at them as if they were crazy and stayed away from them but Haneul didn't care, he wasn't there for them, he was there for Bora. He heard comments like, "He could never be one of us," or, "he looks down on us like we are scum, just like his captain said." But he just shook his head, knowing that they would never understand.