Sentience

01

Changmin knew he could find her easily. He knew he would find her here.

The spot; on the bench under the shade facing the playground, seemed to have been designated to be hers every time she came. Every time meant every day and mostly in the evening.

She was completely a stranger. A middle-aged woman who looked like his mother. Neither did she was his neighbour or the acquaintance of his mother. He saw her by accident when he passed by this area for some good shots on his camera on that certain one fine day.

Changmin could've ignored her presence. He could just walk away when he first saw her. But, a good part of him just couldn't. From his point of view, he could say that there were some things different from the way she looked at all the kids playing. Changmin could easily tell that she wasn't looking at her own children and not even waiting until one of the children stopped playing.

Her mellow gaze somehow was portraying some kind of longing Changmin was interested to dig in. Her lips would quiver once in a while when she heard the happy laughter from all the kids. Her mouth seemed to be saying something that Changmin decided to break the ice on the first day and walked up to her.

That was what he would explain if one asked why he would run here every time he could.

But, from others' point of view, they would just say that Changmin's sentience over people was just overwhelming.

That's better than being labelled as nosy, he said.

"Aunty!" Changmin beamed, waving his hand high towards the woman who was still on the bench and stretching the widest smile until the dimples on his cheeks popped up. He ran up to her with some snacks he bought on the way here.

For the woman, it was not strange to see him anymore. Even on the first day they met, she never felt any discomfort to have him here sharing the bench.

"I see you are not busy today," the woman said as soon as Changmin plopped down next to her.

"Mhm... I only have one class today," he replied, shoving a bottle of drink to the woman. "Are you missing me already?"

The woman's gaze suddenly turned sorrowful, a faint sigh could be heard escaping her lips as she skimmed Changmin's face. It was as if she was trying to remember every feature he had. Just because.

At that, Changmin somehow realized that he probably had chosen the wrong question. He shouldn't have asked that. For, that was a sensitive question for her.

On the third time he ran into her here; at the same spot, Changmin had mustered his courage to ask further. Why she was sitting here alone? Who she was waiting for? Much to his surprise, the woman opened up to him like they had known each other for a long time.

There, around this time; 4 p.m., at the same bench, the woman told him a very brokenhearted story.

She was living alone in her medium-sized apartment around this area and she was waiting for her daughter to come home. She chose to wait here at the playground because it was strategic; she could easily see her when she arrived, and because she had taken her daughter to play here a lot when she was a toddler.

"Where is she working at?" That was what Changmin questioned. Did she work overseas which made her too busy to visit her mother? He really did not understand the situation.

But, the woman said she never knew where did her daughter go. She ran away from home, she said and Changmin turned red. He was truly angry.

What had broken his heart more was when the woman said, the reason why she could be friendly with him even though they never knew each other was because the last time she saw her daughter, she was around Changmin's age. So, looking at him a bit had relieved a part of the longing she had for her beautiful daughter.

"Have you eaten?" Changmin tried to lift the tension, changing the topic of conversation. "I've bought some bread but I don't feel like eating it. Should we go to the restaurant up there?"

She trailed his hand pointing in a direction. With a smile outstretched on her face, she declined. "It's okay... You can go. Young people need to eat a lot. That's what I told my Anne..."

Anne. Must be her daughter's name, Changmin thought.

Now, it had angered Changmin more. He could tell that this woman was a sweet mother when she had the opportunity to carry out her duty as one. But, how could her daughter leave her like this? No, how could a daughter leave a mother alone?

"I can't go home like this," he said, standing on his feet as he extended his hand forward. "Let's go eat together... My treat."

The woman could easily sense the eagerness welled up inside him. Though she felt bad to leave this spot; in case her daughter came, she took his hand and fulfilled his wish.

The simple decision made Changmin smile. Although this woman was a stranger, after knowing the situation she was in, he was thinking of doing a favour for her. Even just a little thing.

To replace her daughter's spot for the time being.

"Can I call you... Mother?" At his question, the woman was taken aback, unable to move when she took an abrupt halt.

She seemed to doubt her hearing, she thought she heard it wrong. However, when she looked up at the boy who was now holding her hand, her motherly instinct had woken up as she found his glimmering eyes. There was no pity inside them like how her neighbours had when they looked at her. It was just purity.

And before she could say anything, a bead of tear fell from her eye which Changmin was quick enough to wipe with his thumb.

"I'll be coming here to see you as much as I can, Mother."