Laughter. Joy. A happy family scene. A baby wrapped in white was sleeping sweetly. She resembled the angels – pure and innocent. Compassionate arms lifted her up as if cradling a rare diamond.
Home is where you were born, they say.
She called out to the mother, asking if she might hold the baby just once. No one heard. She tried again. Still, there was no response. Was the answer she had been searching for hidden there? Probably not.
At that moment, a sweet girl in a pink floral dress lightly bumped into her. The child looked up, and she saw her own reflection in the girl’s bright eyes. She knelt down and held her tiny hands. The little girl leaned in and whispered something into her ear. She gave a childish giggle and ran away. The tiny hands slipped from her grasp, but the whispered words lingered, echoing in her ears.
“You don’t belong here.”
Those words felt overwhelming. Sobs choked her throat. She stood there staring after her…
The sweet scent of honeysuckle. The caressing rays of the bright sun. Once green forests covered with the golden petals of autumn. Bare branches holding the cotton soft snow. The seasons passed. Calendar pages fell away one by one, leaving behind the sweet memories of childhood. The home that had once echoed with children’s laughter now stood empty.
She entered inside. There was no sound except the echo of her footsteps on the wooden floor. She wondered where everyone had gone. There was only one thing left to do: find the little girl. She was the only one who might have the answer she was searching for.
She cast one last glance around the old house. Her eyelids could no longer resist their heaviness. They slowly closed…
The splashing sound of water on the ground. The murmur of a crowd bidding farewell. She slowly opened her eyes, unaware of what she was about to witness. To her surprise she found herself in the backseat of a car. Looking around, she noticed a girl resting her head against the car window. She could see tears rolling down her cheeks. What could have made her cry? Was it because she was leaving the country she had always called home?
Home.
Was that what others meant when they spoke of a homeland? They say your homeland is your home. Had she finally found hers?
Just then she felt something moving down her cheeks. It felt wet and soft. She lifted her hand to her cheek see what it was. Tears. She looked at the tear resting on her fingertip. “Long time no see you” she whispered. It felt like ages since she last cried.
Her eyes continued to overflow with tears. She looked back at the girl leaning on the window. Now she could understand her feelings. They lied. Many people lied. It was not her home.
It was not her home.
Even the homeland had failed to become one.
A chill ran down her spine. Where could she go now? Was she destined to wander like a nomad, forever searching for a place to call home?
Life was too short to waste. Too brief to hold on to everything.
Could a single suitcase ever be large enough to carry it all? Even a home?
Wasn’t a home simply a place that sheltered you from the cold and shielded you from the scorching heat? Or was it the place where you truly belonged?
“Where?” she cried in despair.
Once again, there was no answer. No one noticed—except the girl sitting beside her.
She simply stared. Then she realized the girl was looking back one last time. The engine started, and they drove away, leaving everything behind.
Wheee…
The soothing whistle of an iron teapot echoed through the room. Steam rose toward the ceiling, condensing into tiny droplets in which she caught a glimpse of her own reflection.
Home is where the hearth is lit, they say.
In a way yes, she thought to herself. She studied surroundings. Everything seemed different from what she had seen before. Through the large window, a colorful world welcomed her. People in colorful clothing. Cars of bright colors. Children of all colors. he sounds of a bustling crowd blended harmoniously with the calls of birds and other animals. The scene before her resembled an enchanting painting from One Thousand and One Nights. She breathed in the comforting aroma of freshly brewed tea. It felt wonderfully familiar. Warmth slowly filled her heart.
“Finally,” she murmured, “I am home…” Things unfolded just as she had expected. She believed she had finally found what she had been searching for all along, unaware of what lay ahead…
Welcoming friends. Hospitable people. After all, it is people who make a place comfortable, livable—a home. Even if circumstances were not ideal, it felt like home.
She had never longed for a grand palace with golden furnishings, servants to wait on her, velvet cushions, or silk garments. A warm embrace and a genuine smile would have meant far more than all of those things. But… They denied her even that. As people grew older, the purity in their hearts started vanishing. Profit became all that mattered. Eventually, that roof, too, began to collapse. She was homeless. Again…
Deep silence. Utter darkness. A dim streetlamp, nearly broken. Raindrops trickled down her shoulders. Her worn, bare feet told everything.
She walked without knowing where she was going. It had been a long journey, and still she had not found her “true” home. How long had it been? she thought to herself. Months? Years? Her soul felt too tired, too old. She kept walking until a sweet breeze gently brushed against her face. It was a new and refreshing sensation in the midst of the darkness. She felt the breeze pushing her as if guiding her through the darkness. The wind swirled and swirled…
She exhaled. Her breath turned to mist in the cold air. A new scene was standing before her. A new scene. This idea sparked an awakening in her heart. Everything seemed fine again. Nature was alive with every shade of green. She lifted her head and found herself beneath a brilliant cerulean sky.
She glanced around. She could hear laughter. Everyone seemed joyful. Among the crowd she saw someone familiar. It was her. The little girl she had been looking for. She ran as fast as she could, weaving through the crowd. At one point, the girl disappeared from sight. She stood there, frozen in place. It was a graveyard. Her feet stepped backward in fear. She had been searching for a home to live in, yet now she stood before a place where the dead were laid to rest…
Was this the end?
Her heart was racing. Suddenly she felt a soft hand on her shoulder. When she turned around, she came face to face with the girl’s smiling face. “But it felt really nice here. I am sure this time it will feel just like home” she said.
Don’t you understand?
What?
She placed her hand on her heart and closed her eyes. “Just try to feel it” she whispered.
Everything she had witnessed until then flashed before her eyes like a movie. Wherever she went, the feeling of belonging had always been just out of reach. Sometimes she had been driven from her homeland; at other times, she had simply felt unwanted. What she longed for was never anything extraordinary—only a place she could truly call home, a place where she felt safe.
But her memories were not all marked by sorrow. There had been moments of joy as well. Yet even those beautiful moments were fleeting. They passed, and she could never return to them.
Her heart yearned for a home where countless happy memories could be made—a home from which no one could cast her out, a home where suffering would finally come to an end. A sweet smile spread across her face. She found it at last. She opened her eyes. This time, they shone with hope.
You were right. I have found it.
Was it worth the wait?
She paused for a moment. The sorrows of the past had quietly faded, leaving only the beautiful memories behind.
“Can I give you a ride home? Do you live nearby?”
“Not really,” she replied with a smile. “But it’s not far now. I can feel it…”
