Mom's gift

How many friends do I like and do they like me? There is an acquaintance that manages and maintains friendship with ten friends around. She said one of them is I. Why am I so embarrassed and sorry when I hear that? I don't deserve such treatment from her.  I'm the person too busy taking care of myself and I don't care about other people.

My own elder sister is just like me. She is not beholden to others or cause any harm, but she is not interested in others because she is busy living her own life. Perhaps this is also a family history. My father always taught us not to be close or distant from human relationships.

I have known my friend older than me for a long time. I sometimes meet her with my sister. The meeting was in a sauna in New Jersey.  I went into the hot water and came out and lay down in a hot room. They came long after to scrub dead skin cells against each other. It wasn't even 12 o'clock, but I was hungry. We ordered samgyetang, pure bean curd and mackerel. It's not delicious. How did they get the courage to do food business while making the food so tasteless? The owner doesn't even try it? The people who work are kind so my heart was soothing.

Wander from room to room I fell asleep. After a long sleep, I woke up with a fright. I couldn't tell where I was lying. I took a sweeping look around. I saw the wall clock pointing at 4 o'clock. How many hours did I sleep? My friend keeps telling me that she will scrub my dead skin cells. I was again soaked in hot water. While my sister was so busy taking care of herself, my friend scrubbed my back, arms and legs like my mother.

As a child, there was a bathhouse at home. It is a small room with a round bathtub made of cast iron for about two adults fit in. Every Wednesday morning, it starts to heat the water. There was a round wooden board on the hot iron floor where the feet could reach. When the water warmed by the evening, my father first took a bath. Next, the children were soaked in water. Then my mother scrubs our dead skin cells. We all combed our hair neatly and sat around the dinner table. My family was happy to eat the beef stew with the red-faced. I miss those days when I was cared for by my mother and father.

I took a close look at my friend, who is scrubbing my back. White-jade skin and straight legs look just like my mom. Come to think of it, it resembles a mother's character that has always been giving and caring for her siblings, family members, and people around her. My mother died in September 1984. When I was at a loss for grief, I met her at a church in Flushing. As soon as we first saw each other, we were attracted to each other like we had known in our previous lives. And with her generous heart, it has led to a good relationship until now.

Maybe she was a gift from my mom to me who missed her so much.