Remedy

Scarf.

In a chilly evening, the trees in the neighborhood shook fiercely, and two friends paced their footsteps among the crooked streets. 

"It just sometimes feels as if my parents were totally the opposite of what I am when they were kids. I just wish I could meet them when they were my age, to see if they understand. To find if they were, you know, if they had the same habits as me, and and," she sighed and furrowed her red eye-brows. 

"Elly, it may not seem so, but they have a heart of a child too! When they say things they don't mean, or just want your time, it is a sign of them not wanting to miss out on seeing you grow. Just like a baby girl that wants her parents at her first drama show for the school's play, our parents want to hold on to us for as long as they can; especially, as they age more and more everyday," she smiles and wipes her eyes. 

Elly clutches on to her scarf as the breeze pokes her little neck. She sniffs her red nose and looks up at the stars. 

"Yeah, but my mother has been cooking since age seven, and she is a professional multitasker. She can skip a day without drinking water, and can be mentally plus physically strong on managing her schedule on and off from work. My father is disciplined and balanced as an individual, and the only time he gets mad is if he is joking. He never loses his patience and will die to see me alive! Look at me... Just look at me. What a horrible daughter I am, what I have given them?" She shakes her head and exhales a smoke of cool air in the wind. 

"Well, I remember you saying that your mother lost her father at age sixteen, she had no choice but to stay strong and keep her head up when the pain was killing her alive. She had to stay hopeful even when everything went doubtful. She had to smile to take care of them, since your grandmother was always depressed. And well, she cooked because it was her passion, just like volleyball, which is yours. Besides, who would teach you to cook that great lookin' pasta if it wasn't for her anyways? And yes, your father is this way, well you see Elly, it's our hardships that shape us. Your grandfather wasn't an easy man, he kind of was abusive to your dad, so it kind of straightened him out in advance," she responds. 

"Yeah I guess you're right, they had no choice. Wow, their life was nothing compared to mine," Elly shivered.

"Yes, and you're not what you think you are, or what I think you are. You're a human who is made to learn, sit, and walk. You have all the materials, a brain, heart, and body to use it to the best as you can. When people go through  a lot of loss in life but still manages to be strong, it opens a person's view, and makes them realize we're all capable of change," she smiled.

"Well, I want to change and begin taking note of others. I want to be able to maintain a better schedule."

"Elly, everyone has different passions, but it doesn't mean you can't try new things. If you get the chance to, you should take it, it will be great for those around you. Also, I understand. Change Elly, takes time. Faith and effort. Try listening to them more, and you will begin to learn much more than you thought about them and even yourself!"

"I'm a horrible listener."

"Elly."

"What?"

"Don't give up."