Childhood Playgrounds - Passage Two

Passage Two:

Sounds of laughter and loud young voices bounced off the tall red brick buildings as the children scrambled about to get on and off the jungle gym. Noises from every direction rose to fill the enclosed sky. The narrow streets were heavy with traffic rushing to get home. Silently,the buildings began to lower their shadows down upon the children as if to slowly point them towards the streets that led them home. The laughter echoed into the distance as the sun slipped away quietly.

I knew that the time had come but I was in no rush to go. Then, I heard a familiar voice in the distance. The voice was faint but grew to become a recognizable familiar tone. I felt my heart race when I heard her voice but I was not moving. I did not want to leave my playground. Her voice was calling me, "KyungMee!" "KyungMee!" I took a deep breath and ran towards my name. I knew dinner was waiting and again I had failed to go back early to help with chores. The realization of this came clear as I got closer and could hear the anger in her voice. I quickly ran up our street as fast as I was able to run. I could see our apartment building at the top of the street. I felt the thumping of my heart as I reached the top of our street. Before I could stop, I felt my knees hit the black top scraping them into it's gravel.

Tears ran down my face and I had forgotten where I was. I sat there shaking my head and crying with my hands over my face. "Aum Ma!""Aum Ma!" I cried out again, "Mommy!" "Mommy!" A gentle voice rushed over to me picking me up in her arms. She swept me up and wrapped her arms around me as she spoke softly back to me. "I am here." "I am here." "Shhh...I am here." I continued to cry out but found myself holding onto her tightly so she could not slip away. She embraced me in and gave me a kiss above my head. "KyungMee. It's okay. Mommy is here." I opened my eyes and saw my Eldest Sister looking back at me with tears.

*** I think I was fourteen when I originally wrote this piece but it was much shorter. It is a piece that fits into a larger script that I had worked on. So, for this one, I extended it for this Blog. Again, it is one of those memories I hold very close to my heart and for that I always forgave and loved my Sister Unconditionally. Hmmm...I just remembered. When we found each other again on our Honeymoon, she told me that she was especially close to me because I was the youngest living and had me in her responsibility since I was an infant. Although, my Mother did not pass away until I was maybe 4 years old, my Sister had to care for me so my Mother could work. She told me that she always thought herself as if she was my Mother. And perhaps, that is why it has hurt me so much.