Sakura Eyes

Chapter 32

"Mommy!"

In the middle of a warmly lit room, a girl around the age of five and a woman who looked to be around her middle twenties were playing with each other.

"What is it?" the young woman looked down warmly at her daughter.

"Do you miss Daddy?" the girl asked, gazing up curiously at her mother's expression.

Her mother seemed caught off guard by the question, and for a moment, a streak of sadness pierced through her brown eyes, but when she blinked again, it was gone. She smiled and nodded, "Of course I do. I miss your Dad very much."

The girl pouted and made a face as if she had just eaten a lemon. "Then I want to see him. I haven't seen him yet. When will I be able to?"

Smiling with another hint of sadness, she touched her daughter's cheek very lightly. "I'm not sure, honey. But we will one day. And when we do, let's give him a big hug!"

The girl stared at her mother, the brightness in her face slowly fading. It was as if she had seen this expression many times before and didn't know what to do about it. She suddenly started to tickle her daughter who rolled onto the ground and started to laugh.

"Don't you worry about it," she laughed, stopping the tickling. "We will see him one day. Just not today."

"You love him, right?" the girl stared at her mother again very carefully.

She opened her mouth and closed it. Opened it again and then closed it. Finally she managed to say, "Very much."

The girl's expression saddened as she quickly glanced the other way. There were tears threatening to spill in her eyes. The girl climbed on top of her mother's lap and hugged her chest. Her mother smiled softly before wrapping her arms around her daughter too.

"Mommy?"

"Hm?"

"What's it like to fall in love?"

"It's the best feeling in the world. But it also can hurt you the most. It's strange how even though humans know this, they keep on searching for one."

The girl looked at her mother confused. "I don't get it."

She ruffled her daughter's hair. "You will get it one day. Try to look at things from a different angle and then maybe you'll understand."

The girl tilted her head as if literally trying to find a different angle to look at the problem. "I still don't get it."

Laughing, she held her daughter more closely. Affection and warmth surrounded the two of them as she hummed a tune to her daughter who silently began to fall asleep. Realizing this, she slowly stood up and placed her daughter into her bed.

"Of course," the mother whispered softly, brushing her daughter's hair gently. "You're still young. But when you're older, I promise I'll tell you everything. Everything."

                                                                        ...

"Ugh."

My mind immediately began to throb when I woke up. Frowning, I rubbed my head and tried to recall my dream. What in the world was that dream?

Glancing up, I realized that the sky had grown dark, and by the smell hanging in the air, I guessed it was almost time for dinner. Sighing, I leaned my head against the tree's trunk; I didn't feel like getting up. The problems that disappeared while I was dreaming were going to come back, and I wasn't in the mood to deal with them now.