Do you think the title is relevant to the story?
I want to say like "For all your good hope, one day, he will know it" or
"Don't regret for your good doing"
but can't come up with any good title. Would you mind suggesting me
any? If not, it is fine. Thank you so much for your help.
Regret Not For Good Deeds
Leo and I have been friends since we were in diapers. We live
in the same neighborhood, go to the same schools, and know each other's
house like it is our own. Even though Leo is not one of those handsome
guys, he is very intelligent. In fact, he always ranks among the Top
Three in our class. Apart from his academic excellence, he has a
girlfriend that every guy would envy. Her name is Daw. She is a slim,
tall girl, with twinkling black eyes. Her charming appearance and
confident expression make all guys dream of her. However, there have
been many rumors about this girl going around. I have never believed
all that rubbish though. Until one night when I was at a pub. I saw her
and was going to say hi; but then I have to stop because she was
kissing with Bill, a rich and good-looking athlete in the school. I
tried to tell myself that I might be drunk but the fact was that I just
arrived and had not yet drunk anything, not even water. The following
day I anxiously go to Leo's house and tell him what I saw last night.
Believe it not, he chooses to trust his girlfriend, not his best friend
who he had known for all his life. He says that I am jealous of him and
made that story up to destroy their relationship. Before he runs away,
he says, "get away from my life." I am stunned.
I come
home and tell my mom what had happened. Much to my surprise, she starts
smiling and says, "you are so me, my son." She asks me to calm down and
tells me that she understands how I feel because she herself once had
been in the same situation. She recalls her memory; a story that change
the way I see the world begin.
Luk was married to Chi, but
not everybody agreed with their relationship. Sue, Chi's mother
strongly opposed it and declared that she would do anything to prevent
the marriage. In her eyes, Luk was just a poor girl coming with empty
hand to squander their wealth. Luk had realized this since they met for
the first time, when her husband-to-be's mother greeted her with a
piercing look and said, "from your head to your toe, nothing could
match my son." Yet, their wedding ceremony was one of the biggest
events in the area. All elders in the village were invited as well as
many relatives in China. Probably, the only person who was home that
day was the groom's own mother.
Everyone in the house loved her
because she was kind, patient, and hard-working, but the attitude of
her mother-in-law remained the same. She was so melodramatic and would
blame her for every little mistake. One day, she shouted and accused
Luk for trying to kill her by preparing water that was too hot. This
kind of story kept repeating day after day. Luk was lost. She had done
everything to please her mother-in-law but it was worthless. This
painful position made her cry many times. Thanks to the support of her
beloved partner and Luk's belief: "good deeds beget good results," she
did not give up.
One day, Sue got the flu. She had a
high fever; aches and pains spread all over her body forcing her to
stay in bad all the time. Unfortunately, most of her children including
Chi had happened to be away for several weeks, and the rest were too
busy working. Sue was left home alone with Luk, the very last person on
earth she would want to be taken care by. Although Sue had treated her
badly, Luk did not mind sacrificing day and night to her. She would
woke up at five in the morning to make a bowl of rice porridge, prepare
Chinese medicine, and serve her. After finished her housework routine,
she would boil water to made a pot of ginseng tea and had it next to
Sue's bed to drink at night. Not even a word of "thank you" came out
from her hard-to-please mother's mouth.
Four rough days had passed,
Luk was very exhausted due to the fact that she had not gotten enough
sleep lately. Everything was like usual, she got up early, cooked food,
and prepared medicine. While she was handing a glass of ginseng tea to
Sue. KRESHH! She dropped it. The glass was broken as well as all Luk's
courage. She knew that she will be blamed for her clumsiness. Luk kept
saying "sorry" like crazy. As to her surprise, what the mother said
was, "it is okay; just prepare me another cup of that." That few words
meant so much to her. She knew that a saying, "good deeds beget good
results," is true. All her effort was starting to pay off. She quickly
ran with smile to the kitchen, and a new cup of tea was prepared and
served.
Just before Chi came back, Sue recovered from the
flu. Although a mother-in-law still could not fully accept her
daughter-in-law as her child, the relationship among them gradually got
better. Sue was less arrogant towards her daughter and talked to her in
a much nicer way. Unfortunately, she did not live very long; a couple
years later, she passed away because of breast cancer. You will not
believe what was her last words: "I am sorry, Luk, my wonderful child."
My mom closes her story with a smile but her eyes are close to tears.
I am relieved by that story; at least I know that I have done the right thing.
That evening, Leo calls me saying that he is extremely sorry;
he did not mean like what he said. He admits that he always knows that
Daw does not take their relationship seriously; but he has denied that
fact and fooled himself. Before he hang up, he says,"Thank you, dude,
for pulling me out of that fancy world."
|