Keep Crying

The mother and the father are angry. Hate flickers in each of their eyes. The child sees this, feels this, but cannot understand their fast words. He knows this is serious, and so he offers his advice earnestly to the mother, “Happy face Mommy!!” It takes a moment, but it comes.

The mother composes herself so that she is able to pack a bag, but not able to pack a bag well. The mother and the child travel with the burden of enough clothes to dress the child for a week, but with only seven bras to adorn the mother. The wardrobe is unnecessary, because the mother knows she will be back by the next day.

The mother goes food shopping before deciding where to go. She makes sure she has something acceptable to feed the child, something with more nutrition than preservatives or sugar.

The mother and the child take a bus to a train station, then the first train to another train, then that train to a ferry, then the ferry to a bus, and finally their feet bring them to the sisters home. They travel for five hours before arriving. The mother calls the grandmother five times during the trip because she can neither retain the sister’s address, nor come up with the idea of writing the information down. She does not call to receive maternal support. She does not visit her sister for sisterly support. She is there only because there is nowhere else to go.

The sister has three children. All of the children play in the back room. It is loud with giggles and groans for hours. The sisters sit in the kitchen, drinking tea and urging the children to stay in their room.

The child plays with his cousins. He is the oldest, and he likes to set a good example. So when a cousin pushes him to the ground, scraping his already scabbed elbow, he is surprised. When the cousin tells him to “keep crying”, it is too much for him to bear. The mommy comforts him; she gives him kisses and tells him “honey, please stop crying.” It takes a moment, but he does.

The next day, the mommy asks the daddy to come get her and the child with his car. It takes all afternoon, but the family arrives home in time for the mommy to cook dinner. As the mommy cooks, the father and the child play. The child falls on his elbow again. The father tries to comfort him; he gives the child kisses, but the child wants his mother. The father shouts “Fine! You don’t want me, then keep on crying!” The mother hears this. She hears wails falling out of the child. Pain flickers in each of their eyes, because she sees how serious it really is.