ONE-EYED MOTHER: A
STORY OF LOVE AND SACRIFICE
How much do you love
your mother? Our parents are our shield in every battle in our lives. Our
mothers, especially, are the bravest, strongest and most sensitive people in
our lives. Read the story of a mother with great love to his son.
“My mom only had one eye. I hated her… she
was such an embarrassment. My mom ran a small shop at a flea market. She
collected little weeds and such to sell… anything for the money we needed she
was such an embarrassment.
There was this one day during elementary
school… It was field day, and my mom came. I was so embarrassed.
How could she do this to me? I threw her a
hateful look and ran out.
The next day at school… “your mom only has
one eye?!?!”…And they taunted me. I wished that my mom would just disappear
from this world so I said to my mom, “mom… Why don’t you have the other eye?!
If you’re only going to make me a laughingstock, why don’t you just die?!!!” my
mom did not respond…
I guess I felt a little bad, but at the same
time, it felt good to think that I had said what I’d wanted to say all this
time… maybe it was because my mom hadn’t punished me, but I didn’t think that I
had hurt her feelings very badly. That night… I woke up, and went to the
kitchen to get a glass of water. My mom was crying there, so quietly, as if she
was afraid that she might wake me.
I took a look at her, and then turned away.
Because of the thing I had said to her earlier, there was something pinching at
me in the corner of my heart. Even so, I hated my mother who was crying out of
her one eye. So I told myself that I would grow up and become successful.
Because I hated my one-eyed mom and our desperate poverty…
then I studied real hard. I left my mother
and came to Seoul and studied, and got accepted in the Seoul University with
all the confidence I had. Then, I got married. I bought a house of my own. Then
I had kids, too… now I’m living happily as a successful man. I like it here
because it’s a place that doesn’t remind me of my mom. This happiness was
getting bigger and bigger, when… what?!
Who’s this…it was my mother… still with her
one eye. It felt as if the whole sky was falling apart on me. My little girl
ran away, scared of my mom’s eye. And I asked her, “who are you?!” “I don’t
know you!!!” as if trying to make that real. I screamed at her, “How dare you
come to my house and scare my daughter!” “GET OUT OF HERE! NOW!!!” and to this,
my mother quietly answered, “oh, I’m so sorry. I may have gotten the wrong
address,” and she disappeared out of sight. Thank goodness… she doesn’t
recognize me… I was quite relieved. I told myself that I wasn’t going to care,
or think about this for the rest of my life. Then a wave of relief came upon
me…
One day, a letter regarding a school reunion
came to my house. So, lying to my wife that I was going on a business trip, I
went. After the reunion, I went down to the old shack, that I used to call a
house… just out of curiosity there, I found my mother fallen on the cold
ground. But I did not shed a single tear. She had a piece of paper in her
hand…. it was a letter to me.
My son… I think my life has been long enough
now… And… I won’t visit Seoul anymore… but would it be too much to ask if I
wanted you to come visit me once in a while? I miss you so much… and I was so
glad when I heard you were coming for the reunion. But I decided not to go to
the school. …for you… and I’m sorry that I only have one eye, and I was an
embarrassment for you.
You see, when you were very little, you got
into an accident, and lost your eye. as a mom, I couldn’t stand watching you
having to grow up with only one eye… so I gave you mine… I was so proud of my
son that was seeing a whole new world for me, in my place, with that eye.
I was never upset at you for anything you
did… the couple times that you were angry with me, I thought to myself, ‘it’s
because he loves me…’ my son. Oh, my son… I don’t want you to cry for me,
because of my death. My son, I love you my son, I love you so much.”
