Lie

Whenever we come across the word “lies”, for sure, it is considered as something which is misbehaving, bad, hateful, deceitful and the negative descriptive words carry on.

But somehow, like what I study in Chemistry, there is always an exception. There are “good” lies as well, which carry the positive meanings.

I’ve learnt these when I came across an article during the celebration of Mother’s Day, entitled “Eight Lies told by a mother”. It was really touching and I felt that some of these lies were really true. I guess most of us will feel that way too.

The story goes….

1^st lie : There was a boy who had a poor family milieu. The problem of “food shortage” always arose each time when either the breakfast, lunch or dinner time came. Consequently, the boy’s mother gave her part of food to him, by saying, “ Dear boy, eat faster and finish my food as well, I’m not hungry.”

2^nd lie : During the time when the boy started to grow up, the mother often went to the riverside to catch some fishes so as to ensure her boy grew up well with enough nutrients. The fish tasted delicious and the fish soup smelled good. The boy was eating the fleshy part of the fish while her mother, sitting at the side of the boy, licking and sucking the fish bones. The boy felt sad and took some fish flesh to his mother but her mother stopped him right away, by saying, “Dear boy, eat faster, I don’t like to eat fish!”

3^rd lie : By the time when the boy started his secondary education, his mother was forced to take up extra jobs so as to cover her child’s education expenses. Every night when the boy asked her mother went to bed earlier, his mother said, “ Dear boy, go to bed earlier since you have classes tomorrow. Don’t worry about me, I’m not tired.”

4^th lie : It was the time when her boy was sitting the final year exam before entering university. Every day when there was an interval between the papers, the boy saw his mother stood under the scorching sun, with a bottle of soup in her hand. Looking at his mother’s dried lip and beads of perspirations on her forehead, the boy lifted the bottle and opened for his mother. His mother passed back the bottle to him, by saying, “Dear boy, drink it faster, I don’t feel thirsty.”

5^th lie : It was indeed “ escape from the fire and get into the frying pan” when the boy’s father passed away. The mother eventually became the sole breadwinner. His uncles and aunties advised his mother to consider searching for another husband so as to lighten the family’s burdens. But the mother said adamantly, “I don’t feel it’s tough. I don’t need to have a second husband.”

6^th lie : When the boy finally completed his tertiary education and worked overseas, he often sent back an amount of money to his mother. However, his mother rejected all the money, by saying, “ I have enough money to survive.”

7^th lie : It was grateful when the boy successfully obtained a PhD certificate and worked in a prestigious company. When he wanted to invite his mother to come over to stay together with him, his mother once again rejected the offer. Thinking that she might be a burden for her own child, she said, “ I don’t want. I’m not used to it.”

8^th lie: Due to the hard life, the mother finally fell into a severe sick and was being sent to a hospital. The boy flew back when he got the news. It was a fatal ill. The boy burst into tears when he saw his mother’s pale face and thin cheek. The mother barely able to open her eyes and tell him, “ Dear boy, please don’t cry, I don’t feel any pain.”

 Finishing her last words, the mother who spent her whole life to lie closed her eyes peacefully.