Hidden Love (Scoups)

𝟷𝟷...sᴇɴᴛ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴀɴɢᴇʟs

"When I leave, promise me you'll take care of  your grandmother and your brother for me." 

"I promise." 

"And promise you'll take care of your mother for me too."

A young Nabi shook her head, tears falling out. 

"I don't want to," She whispered. 

"Nabi. . .she's your mother. She bore so much pain to bring you in this world. No matter how your relationship with her is now, it is your duty to look after your family, no matter how strayed they have become."

"I don't want you to leave."

"I won't be leaving you alone forever. I'll always be with you. Look outside Nabi. See. . .it's snowing. Every time it snows, think of me as a snowflake sent by the angels. That way you will never be alone. I will always be with you, even if its not in person." 

January 23, 2022

Today too, it is snowing. 

After eight years, nothing much has changed in terms of the weather but everything else has changed for Nabi.

She's elder, working, earning, much more beautiful. When her father left her behind, she was still a growing teenager with acne on her face and frizzy hair which showed no sign of being tamed. She used to be so skinny that her bones would stick out of her skin. 

Now Nabi has gained some weight which has benefitted her by equally distributing her body proportions, her hair has grown long, silky and straight, and her skin is so clear and spotless that Nabi couldn't even be bothered with putting on foundation.

"It's another year dad," Nabi spoke, her scarf loosening from the strong winds as she crouched down at the ground. 

"Life's still the same. I wake up everyday, go to work, do my job, come back, work my side job then sleep. I fit in food somewhere in between, and sometimes I just skip. Then it's the same thing all over again for the rest of year. If I'm lucky and if things go according to plan and the Webtoon I am the editor for gets turned into a drama, then I think I should be getting a pay raise before June. Things should be a bit easier after that," Nabi said. 

"Suho's in University now," Nabi said and then chuckled slightly, "It was so hard to get him to University. We fought so much because he didn't want to go to university and become a professional gamer instead. But we both know that is a terrible idea since he isn't even good at video games."

"I can't say he's on the correct path. He still makes mistakes and he still makes stupid choices. Maybe he is so rebellious because I'm strict on him but if I'm not strict with him then how will I make sure he's okay? Maybe he'll start to get mature from this year." Nabi spoke to the air, "Grandma is alright. Her health has its up and downs but she's healthy for the most part of it. That's a relief. I thought living alone might have a bad affect on her health but she's holding up just fine. I wish I could take her to Seoul with me so I would know she's safe but she'll be so bored there. At least here she has neighbors to talk to, community friends to meet up with."

"Grandma. . .still doesn't like me. She actually pushed me yesterday. I have these cuts on my wrists and my palm and I think the skin on my back is bruised. I couldn't really sleep last night because my back would hurt each time it would touch the bed. The worker at the pharmacy was so nice to me last night. He helped me clean the wounds and dress it up and even gave me strawberry milk for free. It reminded me of you actually. Remember how you always gave me strawberry milk whenever I was sad? I miss that. The cuts still hurt and sting a bit but the worker said it'll take two more days for the pain to go away. I guess grandma really must hate me. But it's okay. It doesn't hurt as much as it did when you were still around. I guess I'm used to it now, " Nabi said.