SHORT STORIES (A life-changing one)

TREASURE YOUR PARENTS

As I started walking back into my room to finished up my homework due before midnight, my dad slightly raised his voice and said, "James, come over here." Thinking that I had done something wrong, I raised my voice with an angry tone as I replied,

"What!" As I walked back into the kitchen, my dad stood holding a bbq fish with two plates of rice already set out on the table.

"Come eat with me. I barbecued a very tasty fish. Eat, eat."
Feeling dumb about my inconsiderate action, my heart paused for a second as I silently walked over to sit down next to my ecstatic dad.

"Try it, it is really good! I barbecued it." For the longest time, it was so difficult to swallow the spoon full of rice that I held in my hand while watching my dad munch away. This feeling made my stomach sick as I sat with the nicely cooked fish, and my dad's priceless smile across his wrinkled cheeks with his scared hands picking through the bones of the fish.

It was hard to keep a straight face at my dad, and it was at this  moment, I remembered 11 years ago my dad and I sat at the same table eating a fish he caught and barbecued for me, except he was much more younger and stronger.

As I sat there, I began to realize how long I've been away from my dad, physically and mentally, compared to when I was younger. With these past memories skipping through my mind, I felt a strong sense of nostalgia as I continue to watch my dad eat.

I have been so busy with school, work, and life this semester that I have forgotten all about my dad until this bittersweet meal with him. Time has done so much to my dad, but for some strange reason, he never forgets to invite his ill-manner son to the table. Trembling with an unknown and rush of remorseful anxiety from within, I start to loose my composure to keep on eating because I was gulity of being ungrated and taking my dad for granted for everything he has done, gave, and taught me. It was an emotional moment of silence until my tears climbed out, and rush down my sadden face seeking an apology.

Unable to hide my discomfort,  I fled the scene to recover before ruining this heartwarming and long forgotten reunion with my dad. I hid myself in the bathroom seeking to return but I couldn't as I sink to the ground, strucken numb with a untold love bond that held me and my dad as father and son.

I am sorry papa, for love is simple. For us, it is a plate of rice and a bbq fish.
Love your parents for they cannot grow young and anew like a flower. Give them every amount of love, because they cant stay forever hoping you'll love them. They're getting older in just a blink of an eye.

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