中文版的故事
About 12 years ago there was a young man, named Hosea, who was then sixteen years old. Hosea worked in a company that organised events and seminars. He liked his job and he very excited about what he was doing.
During that time Hosea got to know a girl called Mimi (not her real name) that just graduated from polytechnic and helped out in the company where Hosea worked. Hosea did not really know Mimi but she treated everybody really nice. She was soft-spoken, very caring, attentive, all the characteristic a man would want from a wife. As times passed they became friends and get along well.
One day Hosea had to be at an event. He and his team were getting the event ready and had not eaten since early morning. He gave his best to the job to make sure everything run smoothly. Evening came and he met Mimi at the event. Mimi saw the team was tired and had not eaten and offered to buy food for them and started asking them for their order.
Mimi asked Hosea for his order but Hosea did not want to eat until the event ended. Mimi insisted that he should eat something and took the initiative to buy something for him to eat. After half an hour, Mimi came back with the food and distributed it. She passed a packet of fried rice to Hosea. Hosea did not appreciate it and rejected the fried rice. Mimi kindhearted soul persuaded him to eat. After a few conversations, the talk heated up and he scolded Mimi, until she cried, for pestering him to eat. Everybody near by took notice of the amplified talk and saw the caring Mimi crying.
Hosea was angry, but embarrassed, and took the fried rice from Mimi. He quickly opened up and ate the fried rice to pacify her. Mimi saw that and stop crying.
The event ended and Hosea went home to rest for the day. He took a long bath and thought about Mimi. Then he lied on the bed and pondered again. He could not sleep. He was disturbed. Tossing here and there, now he felt guilty. To give him an excuse to sleep he told himself that he had to apologise to Mimi.
Next day Hosea quickly went to office and looked for Mimi but could not find her. His guiltiness made him very uncomfortable and could not work. He waited and waited and realized that she did not come to work today. Hosea was down and feeling very remorse. Not to get embarrassed again he prompt for an answer here and there for her absence.
“Mimi and her family went to Malaysia to visit her relatives,” her best friend said. “She will be back next week.” Hosea was very disheartened. He said to himself “never mind, she will be back soon, just away for a couple of days.” But that night, he could not sleep again. He was very bothered by his guiltiness.
Next day, Hosea went back to work again. Feeling bad and emotionally weary. The feeling was like a heavy big stone resting on his chest, breathlessly breathing. Feeling bad again, he comforted himself by saying “she’ll be back soon.” It was one o’clock, time for lunch.
He was about to go for lunch and the office secretary suddenly answered a phone call with a shocking look. The secretary hanged up the phone and announced that Mimi will not be coming to work anymore. No reason was given. Everybody in the office was puzzled. Hosea did not go for lunch but waited for an answer. An answer that nobody knows. Perhaps he was not really keen for an answer but how to apologise to Mimi to clear his guilt.
The secretary answered another phone call. The conversation was something like “Are you sure?”… “You sure?”… “Serious! You are not joking”… “OK!”… The secretary hanged up the phone and went into the boss room. After a while she came out and announced that Mimi and her whole family, except her little brother, died in a car accident in Malaysia.
I was shocked because I was the young man, the Hosea. I was devastated. I could not believe what I heard. I told myself such a scene happened only on TV. “It is not real! It is not real!” I wrestled my mind with many logical explanations. After sometimes I calmed down and accepted the fact. Then one drop, one drop of tears slowly formed and slide down from my eyes, passed my mouth, to my chin and drop off. I cried silently and suddenly my guilt slipped in and it was like a two-edged dagger stabbed right through my heart and pushed in slowly.
The pain, the agony, was unbearable. You just wished you had the power to turn back the clock. God I am not. I could only cry and looked into the coffin to see her one last time. I cried, I cried and I cried. That was all I could do. Now I know how weak we are even though we are created in the image of God.
I looked at her, looking at her sleeping face. “Mimi, I am sorry! I don’t mean to make you cry the other day.” My tears were like flowing river and I was trying to speak properly, “ Will… you for…give me?” “I’m here to say sor…ry”. “Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!” I was expecting a miracle that she would wake up and forgive me. Oh! How foolish I was!
I whispered to her, like a pair of lovers would do in cinema, “Who’s gonna buy fried rice for me when I’m hungry?” My good friend came over and hugged me and walked me to a seat. I sat down and cried again.
Twelve years already and till these days I cannot forgive myself for not saying sorry to her. Every time I eat fried rice I will cry. I will quickly think whom I have hurt today and forget to say sorry. I will quickly patch up with them.
Years have pass and I grow stronger every each new day. If I hurt someone in the day I will say sorry to him before sunset. If I have a conflict with you in the evening I will sort it out with you before the sunrise. I will live a life whereby I will always express myself to those I admire and love and to forgive, forget and move on making each and every day a day of gratitude. I will also go out of my way to make someone’s else day a better day to give to those less fortunate than me. Let us make the best out of each day.
Are you willing to do the same?
This is my, the Hosea, fried rice story.