Welcome Home (2021)

1st Place High School Essay Contest (2021)

Welcome Home

(Written by: Jasmine Tan)

As monsoon season inched nearer and nearer, rain showered the streets white, which was an odd description when in contrast to the bedarkened sky. I had just finished from work, treading through the old-fashioned streets as the rain splattered a melody on my umbrella. Night was falling, but everywhere was still ablaze with activities. Housewives wended towards the Thursday night market whereas office workers celebrated with hotpots among themselves. Nothing could dim the liveliness of the streets.

I had just turned a corner when a young shriek severed through the rain’s song. “Watch where you walk, old man!” it said, along with muttered complaints about getting clothes wet. The rain was gradually becoming an unending torrent tonight, and something twanged in my heart when I realised the ‘old man’ had no umbrella. His hair limped under the downpour’s weight. I did not miss the worry lines on his face as he appeared to be searching for something…

I checked my watch. If I did not get back, I would never finish my preparations for the next day’s conference, but I simply could not leave an elder alone like that. I had my share of memories with my grandparents too. Because of that, my limbs moved faster than any thoughts. I hurried over just in time to spot a ragged wallet in a puddle. Without missing a beat, I picked it up, panting as I jogged towards the elder. “Sir, you shouldn’t be out in this rain. It’s late.” I lifted the dampen wallet regrettably. “Also, I believe you’ve accidentally dropped this. I’m sorry that-”

“Oh, thank God! I thought I’ve lost it!” Utter relief surged over the elder’s face. He checked the wallet and breathed another sigh of relief, his thumb brushing past in what I could see was a lovely girl’s picture. “I’ve kept this picture of my daughter for my entire life. I can’t bear losing it. Thank you, kind sir.”

Despite of the biting chill of the air, the ghost of warmth touched my soul. Concern piqued me to ask more questions. I soon discovered that he was out here to visit his daughter because he missed her dearly, as much as the weather said otherwise. However, his memories were untwining like loose threads, dwindling like last breaths. Soon, he had lost his way and could not find his way home. “She wouldn’t be happy if she knows her Dada got lost again.” The words were soft, adoring and woeful in the same heartbeat.

My heart went out for him. Alzheimer’s disease was never an easy thing to cope with. Unmistakably, he did not want to trouble his daughter again for his unsupervised venturing. Then, I noticed the medical ID bracelet around his wrist and knew what I had to do. I angled my umbrella to his side and said gently, “Let me help you, sir.”

When we reached the address as mentioned on the bracelet, an old woman was tidying up her fruit cart. Upon seeing our arrival, she dropped her things and rushed over with her umbrella, apologising for the trouble it had caused me to bring her husband over. “It’s not much but please do take these apples. They are still very fresh. A young man like you must keep healthy at all times.” After several failed attempts of declination, I decided to finally accept it with a nod of thanks and a wish for them to be well too.

Rain was again incessant on the next day. I was tired from the conference, but the fatigue was immediately lifted off the moment I saw the back of a girl, bent over as she made the next bowl of dumplings. Like moth attracted to streetlights, I stopped by her side and called, “Linda, one bowl of dumplings please.”

At the sound of my voice, she whirled and stared at me for a long moment. I stilled, wondering whether I had a piece of vegetable stuck in my teeth. Eventually, she smiled, “Thank you for bringing my dad back.” For a fleeting moment, rain quivered into a background of silence in my subconscious mind. She fiddled with her fingers. “You see, my dad’s memory is slowly declining and he always gets lost. I tell him to stay put at home and not worry about me, but sometimes he just never listens. When my mom described the young working man who brought my dad back, I knew it had to be you because you always carry a blue umbrella too.”

Then the daughter…

My jaw must be dropping because she suddenly laughed at my expression. As compensation, the girl I liked made me a bigger bowl of dumplings today. When the crowd finally settled into their own dumplings, she took the chance to slip into the seat opposite from me. Most of the times, people told me I was too nice, but old folks like my grandparents liked to nurture proper courtesy and manners into children. As we chatted, I found out that her dumpling recipe was originally her father’s craftwork. I also found out that my said free acts of courtesy and kindness had brought me everything I wanted – a new lover and family.

Until today, I never forgot how special the dumplings tasted, as if she was welcoming me home.

(886 words)