My Brightest Star || Park Jongseong

35 💫

My dad was confined the day my mother called me in the pouring rain.

I held my dad's hand and sat close to him as he laid in the hospital bed.

I saw how his expression lightened at my presence. He smiled brightly even with the pain he was feeling.

"I missed you" he mumbled, and though it wasn't as clear, I still understood what he said.

That night, my dad had a seizure. It wasn't unusual since he'd gone through seizures before, but this one was the longest yet.

It would usually last 30 seconds, but this time it lasted for 2 minutes.

I spoke to my dad about how I've been as I held his hands close to me. I wanted him to imagine how amazing life is in case he's forgotten.

"I went to the amusement park not too long ago. It was just as incredible as to how it was when I was a kid" I started

"There are lovely flowers and trees that I encounter on the way home. No wonder our neighborhood always had a refreshing atmosphere" I smiled at him.

He simply listened to me as he stared blankly into nothingness.

"I still suck at basketball, but that's okay, I'm good with other things," I say recalling the times I'd play ball with him.

He smiled lightly at that.

"I could go on and on about the beautiful things in life, but it wouldn't be fair if I experience these alone"

"I wanna go to the park with you once you get better, I want to play ball with you even if I'm the worst at it. I wanna do many things with you, dad"

He slowly looked at me and when our eyes met, I noticed how tears were welling up.

My heart sank.

"Don't cry. You're the strongest person I know" I slowly wiped the tears that rolled down his cheeks.

I smiled painfully at him as I hugged him carefully, making sure I'm not hurting him.

-

After a week, my father was discharged from the hospital. he's been feeling way better and I was glad.

We went to a garden near our place since I promised we'd do so when he gets better.

He was seated in a wheelchair and I pushed it as we looked around the garden. He looked so peaceful and it must have been nice to get some fresh air after being confined for a week.

When I arrived home with dad, I decided to cook him his favorite meal. Of course, I had to take into consideration of food that wasn't good for him, so I scratched some ingredients out and replace them with something else.

After we ate I saw dad smiling at me. He looked happy and that made me happy.

"Good afternoon Mr. Park" a voice was heard and I followed it to see who it was.

"Charlotte?"

"Charlotte decided to come by and pay your dad a visit" my mom replied instead.