The Diary of Joy

Tales of the Past pt.2

15. Joy, the year of the Phoenix

Dear Angel,

Last night mom decided to tell us the bedtime story, and surprisingly enough, she chose to tell us a story that continued nicely to what dad has told us about the past. She doesn't know what he told us, of course, but it's like they are so in tune with each other that even their stories match perfectly, it's beautiful.

Anyway, mom decided to tell us an 'imaginary' story about what happened after the main character was rejected by her family, for loving the person they did not approve of. In her story, the main characters were slightly different, but we knew that they were dad and her.

"Once upon a time, when the moon was yet very young and the sun proud, there lived a young girl who fell in love with a prince. However, her family did not approve. They said that the prince was too different, that coming from two different worlds, they could never make their love work, but the girl loved her prince and was ready to fight for true love." Mom started her story.

My siblings and I raised from our bedcovers in anticipation, wanting to learn more about the period of their lives they haven't told us a lot before. A whole new side of our parents was to be revealed, and we were eager to learn more. So much so that we even did our best to avoid the usual interruptions.

"When her parents told her that she was not allowed to love the prince, Myna, the regular girl, decided that she would move out. After months of fighting for the right to love who she chose, she realized her parents could never accept her choice and that the best place for her to settle down would be prince Nan's magical castle.

That is when Myna and Nan decided to get married, to finally crown their love and live their lives the way they chose, not the way they were told. In that endeavor, they had the full support of Nan's family. However, Myna barely managed to convince her father to attend the wedding, and her mother did not appear at all." Mom said.

She had to stop for a second and take a few deep breaths, which didn't surprise me, it must have been difficult to talk about those times, even when she cloaked them in a tale.

"The wedding itself was truly magical, and Myna was happier than she had ever been and yet...There was a grain of sadness deep in her heart that she could not stop from tainting their perfect moment. The fact that her parents were not happy for her, that they did not wish to share in her joy hurt more than she wanted to admit..." Mom said as her voice broke.

She brushed away a tear we all pretended not to see and went on with the story.

"Anyway, after the enchanting wedding they had, Myna and Nan started living together in the castle, which took some adjustment. Although Myna loved her beloved more than anything in the world, living with someone required a great amount of compromise, and at times, living in the castle was all a bit too much for the regular girl to adjust to. However, love conquers all, and soon enough, they got used to their different schedules and moods. They started leading a rather comfortable, if a bit slow, life until..." Mom said.

"Until you found out about me?" I can help but interrupt.

"Joy!" The others yelled at me for interrupting mom.

"Ahem, Myna, the main character of this story, did have children much sooner than anticipated, and many more than expected. At first, when it was just a small girl who was prone to mischief, it was easy and fun, but after they had more children, things became more difficult. Lack of sleep and lack of sufficient help could leave a negative trace on anyone.

Nan's parents helped as much as they could, but raising four children of different ages was more than anyone could handle. What Myna needed more than anything was motherly advice, but she had none. She had to find a solution for everything by herself.

She had visited her parents a few times, hoping they would like to meet their grandchildren, but they refused to even see her, let alone her children. That made Myna sad but also even more determined to be the best mother she could be and never to hurt her children the way her parents hurt her.

Her husband was of great help, although he did have a few strange ideas about raising children from time to time. Still, it was a loving home, and that was the first step to living a better life.

Myna learned about who her children were and adapted her behavior to their different needs and personalities, and Nan did his best to do the same. They always presented themselves as a parenting unit to their children and showered them with love as much as they could without spoiling them rotten.

Life was never boring again. Every day was a new adventure with four active children and Myna and Nan loved every second of it. They learned how to be the best parents they could be, and they were proud of themselves as well as their children.

Yet, Myna could not help but let sadness overwhelm her from time to time since she missed the closeness she had with her parents. It was like a dark cloud that never wanted to leave her skies. Then, one day suddenly, the sun broke through and chased the clouds away as her parents offered a hand of reconciliation." Mom said as a smile graced her lips.

I could see from her facial expression how much the reconciliation meant to her, and I was glad that I didn't do or say anything that would prevent it from happening. After all, if something made mom this happy, it didn't matter that I didn't understand it. As long as it made her happy, it was okay.

"From that day on, they lived happily ever after as one big, happy family." Mom said, finishing the story.

We all smiled at that because mom's mood was carried over to us, and we couldn't help but feel excited about the new chapter in our lives. Even I was looking forward to it, disregarding my skeptic nature.

I hope, that mom is right and that what waits for us is happily ever after. If not, I am not sure she would be able to deal with that, but I guess will fly over that river when we get to it.

Anyway, I am getting a bit hungry, so I better be going. Thank you for always being there for me, my friend.

Love, Joy