This story begins when I was a child: I was born poor. Often we
hadn’t enough to eat. Whenever we had some food, Mother often gave me
her portion of rice. While she was transferring her rice into my bowl,
she would say “Eat this rice, son! I’m not hungry.”
This was Mother’s First Lie.
As I grew, Mother gave up her spare time to fish in a river near our
house; she hoped that from the fish she caught, she could give me a
little bit more nutritious food for my growth. Once she had caught just
two fish, she would make fish soup. While I was eating the soup, mother
would sit beside me and eat what was still left on the bone of the fish I
had eaten; My heart was touched when I saw it. Once I gave the other
fish to her on my chopstick but she immediately refused it and said,
“Eat this fish, son! I don’t really like fish.”
This was Mother’s Second Lie.
Then, in order to fund my education, Mother
went to a Match Factory to bring home some used matchboxes which she
filled with fresh matchsticks. . This helped her get some money to cover
our needs. One wintry night I awoke to find Mother filling the
matchboxes by candlelight. So I said, “Mother, go to sleep; it’s late:
you can continue working tomorrow morning.” Mother smiled and said “Go
to sleep, son! I’m not tired.”
This was Mother’s Third Lie
When I had to sit my Final Examination, Mother accompanied me.. After
dawn, Mother waited for me for hours in the heat of the sun. When the
bell rang, I ran to meet her.. Mother embraced me and poured me a glass
of tea that she had prepared in a thermos. The tea was not as strong as
my Mother’s love, Seeing Mother covered with perspiration; I at once
gave her my glass and asked her to drink too. Mother said “Drink, son!
I’m not thirsty!”.
This was Mother’s Fourth Lie.
After Father’s death, Mother had to play the role of a single parent.
She held on to her former job; she had to fund our needs alone. Our
family’s life was more complicated. We suffered from starvation. Seeing
our family’s condition worsening, my kind Uncle who lived near my house
came to help us solve our problems big and small.
Our other
neighbors saw that we were poverty stricken so they often advised my
mother to marry again. But Mother refused to remarry saying “I don’t
need love.” This was Mother’s Fifth Lie.
After I had finished my studies and gotten a job, it was time for my
old Mother to retire but she carried on going to the market every
morning just to sell a few vegetables. I kept sending her money but she
was steadfast and even sent the money back to me. She said, “I have
enough money.”
That was Mother’s Sixth Lie.
I continued my part-time studies for my Master’s Degree. Funded by
the American Corporation for which I worked, I succeeded in my studies.
With a big jump in my salary, I decided to bring Mother to enjoy life in
America but Mother didn’t want to bother her son; she said to me “I’m
not used to high living.”
That was Mother’s Seventh Lie
In her dotage, Mother was attacked by cancer and had to be
hospitalized. Now living far across the ocean, I went home to visit
Mother who was bedridden after an operation. Mother tried to smile but I
was heartbroken because she was so thin and feeble but Mother said,
“Don’t cry, son! I’m not in pain.”
That was Mother’s Eighth Lie.
Telling me this, her eighth lie, she died.
Salam semanis coklat,
