Finally home

I rang the doorbell twice before opening the door with my set of keys. To my disappointment, mum was not home, and the great long greeting had to be postponed a bit because she had gone out for breakfast and for groceries.

I walked around the house for a bit, looking and touching things that seemed so familiar, and that each seemed to bear a story. The lavender scented shower gel I had bought last time just before I left, the bear mum bought for me on our last trip to Eastern Taiwan (but which I had left behind to keep her company...), the little pots of plants that I had nurtured back to health after they had suffered draught and wilted after the move last year... On mum's pillow were a few strands of fallen hair, which I caressed, gathered and threw away.

I heard the door open, and I sneaked behind it in preparation for the surprise. The door opened, and she was bent down collecting her grocery bag. "Wh...?" She was speechless, then from her speechlessness burst out laughter. She began to 'scold' me, in a pleasant way. "Why did you come back suddenly? I thought you were in Seattle. Did you abandon your cousins?" Then she put two and two together, and realised that the broken phone connection last night was from Seattle airport, just prior to boarding.

I did not say much, just opened my arms and hugged her tightly, resting my head on her shoulder, patting her back. "I'm finally home," I said. That moment, a moment I had been waiting for, seemed to last a long, long time. All else went quiet. All thoughts and anxieties went numb. And for a brief, yet precious moment, I was at ease right there in her arms.

She was overjoyed, even though she kept on telling me off for changing my plans and leaving my cousins and aunt behind in Seattle. "They'll be alright," I said, "Being with mum is more important!"

I hugged her many more times after closing the door. In my mind, in my naive and in my fantasy, everytime I hugged her I was passing well wishes and positive energies into her body. I felt her invitro-tube in a pouch around her waist, and I saw the long, thin tube that felt into the artificial node in her arm. Her hair was shorter, she had gotten it cut recently. Shorter, and much grayer than before. But overall, she looked well, and she sounded well. I held her hand, and hoped that she could feel the healing take place...