MuHu: Literature - Price of Happiness

Price of Happiness

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Searching for the source of the persistent sound resonating from within, I realised it's the call of nature that will always sound at three intervals of a day. 'Respond to the call', I thought to myself and found myself sitting at a table where many others were doing the same.

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Several owned company of two or more, while a minority remained single and alone like me. Bustling with the typical crowd that seemed to take place daily like a mandatory ritual, a symphony of sound I hear. The slurping of the piping hot noodles as strands after strands frictioned effortlessly against the moist and oily lips and entered into a dark abyss where they shall meet an imminently terrible yet inevitable fate. The chomping sound as blocks of ivory mashed mercilessly against flesh bits of tender poultry to reduce them into minor shreds before glee and satisfaction flashed across the face of the owner of the ivory blocks.

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Simplistic sounds of happiness, I concluded in my mind and asked myself, "What price did they have to pay for their happiness?". "$2.50!", shouted the Chicken Rice stall. "$4.50!", roared the Japanese cuisine chef. "$3.80!", another from the Noodles lady. A visit to my pockets made me realised that I lacked any forms of currency and items of monetary value. "I'm so sorry, I wished I had something in me to pay for your happiness!", cried my pockets. "It's alright, I should be sorry for not filling you with valuables for such a long time!", as I apologized sheepishly to it. Suddenly I cannot help but wonder: Did I just apologize to my pockets, or to myself?

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My answer to the call of nature revealed as I drew out a worn plastic box from my bag and placed it upon the table. As if it posed a significant threat to others, the public laid all eyes upon the box as they generated consciously different versions of impression of the owner of the box. Negative ones too I reckoned, from their skeptical facial expression. A slice of stale bread laid within the box, as I released the lid and discovered the content of lunch. Happiness stuck me instantly at that very moment. "My dear Mother, thank you for specially preparing this lunch!", I exclaimed with tears in my mind. A meal prepared and provided by your loved one, as compared to one provided at a physical commercially-determined cost. I realised how fortunate and lucky I was as compared to every single soul in my vicinity. Happiness and love from my Mother, was what I received from my lunch on top of an answer to the call of nature. "What price did you have to pay for your happiness?", I imagined some jealous soul asking with envious curiousity.

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Priceless.

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"Mom, thank you for everything you've done. Life is never unfair regardless of the conditions we're in, with you by my side."

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a short piece by,

J.S. Lin