the story of snow white

i have a story to tell. an epilogue of a story that i have told, if you will. a very long time ago, in another blog, i told of the story of cinderella and her sad forsaken life after her children abandoned her and she went back to her shack to spend the rest of her life. today's story is about her daughter-in-law, the wife of the shopkeeper.

apparently, heartlessness run in the family like an inherited trait. the shopkeeper's wife, shall we call her snow white, has toiled most of her life to bring up her family of 6 children, 8 if you count the passive, indifferent, lazy excuse of a husband and the naggy, whiny and disillusioned cinderella. her life wasn't easy. she cooked, she washed, she cleaned, she looked after the shop, she looked after the old woman, she looked after the children, and she could do no more than close her eyes to the gallivanting ways of her husband. her life was a mindless routine of work, work and more work. how she find joy and the energy to carry on everyday, i do not know. but her hard work eventually paid off. all 6 children have grown up and left the nest, returning once in a while with their palms open for some money to tie over their single carefree lifestyles. yet she gives lovingly, she gives willingly, with nary a complain passing her mouth.

one unfortunate day, she fell down, very much like cinderella did years earlier, and broke her arm. it was most misfortunate, not to mention painful. now was the time for her children, the receipients of all her sacrifice and time, the apples of her eye, to return, to stay by her side and tend to her every beck and call, to return the great love that their mother had showered upon them for decades.

if one were to walk into the scene at the hospital, perhaps one would finally understand that life is definitely not fair. there she was, lying in immense pain on the bed, with one son hanging around like a lost puppy, with her baggages not far away, sorry i meant cinderella and the laggard husband. one son. out of the six children. or should i say one out of 12, since all 6 children were married, betrothed or have a devoted other half. perhaps the situation was dire, maybe it was a last minute thing, surely one can understand that not everybody are able to leave their jobs at such short notice. even when their mother is to be hospitalised.

the doctor came, the doctor saw, the doctor operated. they all visited, her children. though not everyday, though not for long hours, but they all made an appearance during her long stay at the hospital. they took turns to hang around the hospital and keep her company, some more than others. her oldest rarely visited, though that can also be understood, with 3 children and a husband in tow. snow white will understand.

come operation day, 4 turned up. 4 out of the 12. the day to send her in to the operation theatre. the day to assure her that all will be well. the day to see her tears fall from her eyes when the doors of the theatre were closing. the day to see her for the last time for nobody ever knows with surgeries, risk are always involved. 8 were glaringly missing. nice to know that they have such confidence in the doctor and the hospital . nevertheless, snow white will understand.

that is the fact of life. nobody rushed to come forward to pay the bill. cinderella's son-in-law picked up the tab in the end, the one with the deeper pocket. that is the practical side of life. after she checked out of the hospital, on her way to recovery, we hear the chirping of the little baby birds once more, asking for receipts for the hospital bill payments. when snow white was admitted, we hear silence. when she was in the hospital, we hear silence. when she was pushed into the operating theatre, we hear silence. when they need the receipts to claim for insurance, we hear a lot of chirping. if you think for one minute that they are so aggressive in claiming back the money so that they can repay the deeper pocket uncle, you are more naive than you think.

such is the circle of life. an incomplete one.

if families are so cold, how do we face the rest of the world? if love is so superficial, how do we carry on? if life is just these, where is the meaning?