“Give me a moment with her, my dear.”

I nodded and waited for her in the car.

She needed to be alone with her loved one. It was sad though, she would be spending hours in the company of a cold, unfeeling stone under the gloomy weather. It hurt me to see her that way, talking lovingly to a rock with her lover’s name etched in its memory.

It had been a month since we had buried her other half and I marveled at how strong she was. In fact, she seemed the least affected by the loss.

The one who died was, after all, close to our hearts.

The dark clouds loomed over the horizon and I found a few droplets landing on my windshield. I decided that it was time to intervene. I got out of the car and made my way past the lines of gravestones and statues.

I made my way towards her – the elderly woman sitting on a wheelchair, staring at one particular grave.

“Mother,” I called out and she turned to face me, her eyes watery yet she still managed to smile. I leaned forward, engulfing her in a hug just as lightning and thunder disturbed the melancholic scene.

“It’s time to go,” I mumbled as I rested my chin on her shoulder, casting my eyes on the grave that bore the name of the deceased.

In loving memory

of

Jessica (Sooyeon) Jung

Heaven’s tears began to fall and some left their trail on the stone. My mother turned to face me, mustering a smile that failed to mask the pain hidden beneath the surface.

I knew she was grieving albeit silently, but I couldn’t bring myself to confront her for fear of hurting her. She cupped my face, brushing my skin with her hand before we mutually pulled away from each other.

She turned her sights on the tomb and said in a soft voice, “I guess it’s time to say goodbye, Jessica. I’ll visit you soon. I love you and I miss you.”

I just kept quiet the whole time. I knew she had never wanted to part with her loved one, but some forces didn’t permit that. She turned to me, took my hand, and gave it a squeeze. I was startled by her action.

“Yoona darling, you’ve been spacing out more often these days. You remind me so much of her. Now, be a good daughter and say your farewell. She’d be sad if you would just leave without letting her know.”

I sheepishly smiled at my mother’s rant. She made it easier for me to accept another mom’s death. I turned to the stone engraved with my other parent’s name. I knelt before it and placed my hand over the epitaph. The cold surface sent shivers down my spine.

“Mom,” I said, “Tiffany and I are leaving now. We’ll come back soon. Don’t be too lonely without us. We love and miss you.”

By then, tears began flowing down my cheeks without my consent. The drizzle did not help hide the pain, but a hand landed on my shoulder as I muffled my sobs with a handkerchief. Tiffany made me turn and caught me in her embrace as my sobs grew louder. She calmly rubbed circles on my back as I cried.

When I had stopped, we silently got back into the car to dry ourselves. I helped her change to her dry clothes before we headed home. As we reached the doorstep of our two-storey house, my younger sister welcomed us in.

“Yoona! Mom! You’re back!” She smiled and crushed us in a tight embrace after I wheeled our mom across the threshold and shut the front door.

Tiffany was happy to see her youngest daughter, “Juhyun, what have you and your sister agreed on calling us when you grow up?”

My younger sister grinned sheepishly, “You both asked us to call you by your names because calling you ‘mom’ or ‘mother’ makes you feel old.”

“Correct. So, what are you going to call me instead of addressing me as your mom?”

“Tiffany.”

“Good.” Tiffany chuckled before she shooed us to prepare supper.

My younger sister and I made our way to the kitchen. Our remaining mother stayed in the foyer, near the shelves of CDs and DVDs that contained Jessica’s collection. My younger sister and I gave each other a knowing look as we observed Tiffany from the kitchen.

She pulled out an album - one that contained Jessica’s self-composed songs. A familiar melody played after she loaded the disk into the player. Jessica’s soothing voice filled the room and we found ourselves drowning in the memories of our dead loved one. 

“Yoona. Seohyun.” She called us over just as we had finished setting the table.

We came to the foyer and settled on the couch facing her.

“Do you want to know why this is my favorite song?” She asked us, her eyes formed crescents as she smiled.

Seohyun and I both nodded, clearly curious of our parents’ love story. Neither Tiffany nor Jessica have told us how they got together after they picked us from the orphanage. My sister and I didn’t mean to pry into their relationship, but we were both intrigued. As we grew up, we began to realize that relationships aren’t built overnight.

In the ten years that Seohyun and I have been living under Jessica and Tiffany’s roof, I’ve witnessed how loving our parents were. Sure, they’d have arguments and what not, but they always made up after expressing their frustrations with each other. They would usually take us out to an extravagant dinner or a day at the amusement park if time permitted. At night, Jessica would give Tiffany a soothing massage before we all retired to bed.

 I found it romantic when I came to understand those things as I grew up. I clearly remembered the time when I asked Jessica why they did those things for each other. I was 13 at that time. Seohyun and I still called them moms by then.

***

“Mom, why do you always prepare something special for Mommy Fany whenever she gets home from work?”

Jessica smiled at my query. “I did all those things to keep our relationship going. Have you remembered our little campfire back when you were ten?”

I nodded innocently, not sure of where she was heading with this conversation.

A hint of playfulness appeared on Jessica’s eyes. I knew she was going make me think again. She had always relished in mind games and I had never been a fan of her abstract way of thinking.

“Imagine that the little campfire is your Mommy Tiffany’s love for me and vice versa. If you do not feed wood to the little campfire, it wouldn’t grow and therefore, it wouldn’t serve its purpose. That’s how love works. If we don’t do something to help it grow, it will only be reduced into ashes and will be forgotten. That’s why I plan out surprises for your Mommy Fany because I want our love to burn us all.” Jessica made a huge gesture with her hands.

I laughed at her antics. She could be such a dork sometimes and I love her for that.

***

I brought myself back from my reverie and found my remaining mother in deep thought. Tiffany began to recall her fond memories of Jessica as she explained the reason for picking such a song, “I’m going to have to tell my love story in order to explain that. For starters, it all began when…”

***

Surprise came over Tiffany as she opened her locker. Someone had slipped a bite-size bar of chocolate. It happened for the second time today, but Tiffany didn’t mind. She was famished after her soccer team practice. There was a new recruit in the team, the new student named Jessica Jung, and everyone in the varsity had to train with her.

Jessica came into Tiffany’s thoughts as she munched on the chocolate. She found the girl quite interesting.

 Jessica was a unique persona. She was reserved yet intimidating. Her presence in the field left a huge impression among Tiffany’s teammates. Jessica was a prodigy in the game and yet she never seemed too eager to play.

Tiffany was too engrossed with her thoughts of the new girl that she didn’t see another person standing in her way. Two bodies collided and Tiffany found herself falling first on the ground.

“Ow!” She groaned as she stood up, dusting her bum of the dirt.

The other person was still on the ground, glaring at her. Tiffany immediately extended her hand to the other girl, but the brunette just ignored it and stood up on her own.

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry.” Tiffany said a couple of times as she tried to pacify the fuming brunette who was glowering at her.

The other girl’s expressionless face in response to her apologies made Tiffany even more fearful as she continued to seek forgiveness.

“It’s fine.” The offended replied curtly before she walked away from the offender. Tiffany could only release the breath she didn’t know she was holding after seeing the brunette’s back disappear in the distance.

Her eyes caught sight of the chocolate wrapper that she had dropped when she had bumped into Jessica. Thoughts of the cold encounter with the new girl were completely forgotten and replaced by the possibilities to her benefactor’s identity after she picked up the wrapper.

Kwon Yuri, their strict captain, wouldn’t be so generous to share the treat. The captain’s cousin, Sooyoung, isn’t too kind to share her food either especially when it comes to chocolates. Hyoyeon isn’t fond of sweets. Tiffany went through her list of possibilities, but she wasn’t fruitful.

The last possible benefactor coming from the team could only be their newbie, Jessica Jung, but Tiffany found her distant and cold.

‘It couldn’t be her, right?’ She thought as she listlessly walked.

Tiffany made her way to the bus stop only to spot the familiar brunette whom she had bumped into, previously. She was quite surprised of what she saw. The Jessica Jung whose glare scared the wits out of her was now giggling alongside a blonde. The two seemed really close and Tiffany couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw Jessica exchange playful blows with their student council president.

She quietly followed the two as they boarded the bus, making sure to create some distance to keep them from suspecting that she was observing them out of curiosity. The couple settled near the back and Tiffany had to take the backseat to get a better view of her subjects. She noticed the brunette casting her  a quick glance as she passed down the aisle.  

***

“Was that how you and Jessica met?” I asked innocently.

The elderly woman could only nod and smile.

“That didn’t start right.” Seohyun responded.

“It didn’t.” Tiffany admitted.

“Mom-”

“It’s Tiffany to you, Yoona.” Tiffany feigned an annoyed look which amused me.

“Tiffany,” I corrected myself.

“Yes, dear?”

“Who was that blonde girl that Jessica was with? Have we met her before? You described them as if they were an item.”

Seohyun nodded, agreeing with my remark on the person that our deceased mother had been with.

“Her name was Taeyeon Kim. She was our student council president back then. I used to have a major crush on her before Jessica came into the picture.”

We raised our eyebrows at our mother’s words. This further piqued my interest as my mind flooded with more questions. Seohyun must have thought the same. The sweet music paired with Jessica’s angelic voice that played in the background drove my imaginations wild as I thought on how our parents got together.

Tiffany sat on her wheelchair, amused of our thoughtful expressions. It must have reminded her of herself and Jessica when they were younger. I could only assume though.

She decided to speak up after a moment of silence, “You should have realized by now that this song which Jessica had composed and sung wasn’t originally intended for me.”

“WHAT?!” Seohyun and I chorused.

Tiffany laughed when she saw our startled expressions. I was clearly shocked beyond disbelief.

“Was it for Taeyeon?” Seohyun inferred.

“Yes. It was meant for her.”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t get together at that time.” I frowned while Tiffany chuckled in amusement. Dinner seemed to have been forgotten as my sister and I immersed ourselves in our mother’s story.

“I was but a spectator of Taeyeon and Jessica’s lovely relationship.” Tiffany riposted as she leaned back on her wheelchair and began to recall the numerous times when she had to sit at the back of the bus to keep an eye on the sweet couple.

Tiffany acknowledged that she was extremely jealous at that time.

“So, you merely watched them and envied them from afar?” Seohyun stared into her mother’s bright eyes in bewilderment.

“Are you mad, mom?” the youngest added, “You could have fought for her love.”

“I was a coward back then.” She replied.

I found myself gasping in shock. I couldn’t believe that our strong-willed mother, Tiffany Hwang, would cower before love. That was absolutely absurd, but this only made me and my sister more curious of our parents’ story.