It was nighttime.
The stars were twinkling, and the moon was shining brightly.
A girl was standing on the balcony, with big, black, shiny, innocent eyes looking up at the sky.
A sweet, innocent smile rested on her lips.
She was wearing a shirt and a long skirt, and her hand was resting on the silver locket hanging around her neck.
Suddenly, she drifted away into a flashback.
She was a little girl again, and her mother was gently brushing her hair while softly humming a tune.
Turning to her mother with wide, curious eyes, the little girl asked, “Mom, what does ‘special’ mean?”
Her mother paused.
“Special means… what does special mean… special means… special means those things that happen only sometimes. They happen occasionally… occasionally… like how dad comes to see us sometimes.”
Her mother looked at her and said, “No, my princess, not like that. Special means you. Yes, you are so special to us. You were created from love, by love, and for love. You are my blessing, the one I wanted even before you were born. I dreamed of you. Wherever you go, you are made for everyone’s love.”
Then, she gently kissed her forehead.
The girl came out of her flashback.
There was a sweet smile on her face.
But soon, her smile faded away.
She drifted into another flashback.
In this memory, her mother and dad were arguing.
Her mother was crying, and the little girl was just standing there, watching them.
Then, her dad left.
The little girl went to her mother, wrapped her arms tightly around her mother’s legs, and started crying.
“Mom, dad doesn’t like me, right? That is why he left us. He will never come back now, right?”
Her mother knelt down.
She wiped her own tears and said, “No, my child, it is not like that. Your dad loves you very much.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Mom, please never leave me.”
“No, my child, I will never leave you.”
Her mother took a silver locket off her own neck.
It had the letter ‘S’ on it, the first letter of her mother’s name.
She gently placed it around the little girl’s neck.
“And if I am ever not with you, this will always stay with you. It will protect you, and it will always make you feel my presence.”
Back in the present, Piya stood with her eyes closed, holding onto the memory.
Suddenly, a voice called from behind, “Piya, mom is calling!”
Piya turned around with a beautiful smile.
“Mom is calling? Yes… you go ahead, I am coming.”
She ran toward the ground floor.
It was Christmas night, and many guests had arrived.
Walking quickly down the stairs, she greeted everyone she passed, until she found the lady in the red dress.
“Mom, I am here. What happened?”
The lady looked at her.
“Piya, please go and see if all the arrangements are good or not.”
“Okay, mom.”
She went to check the arrangements and gave quick instructions to the decorators.
“Oh, please don’t do this, it is looking creepy. We are celebrating Christmas, not a Halloween party, so please…”
After fixing it, she came back and said, “Mom, all the arrangements are good now.”
“Thank God, Piya. Without you, I couldn’t do this alone. By the way, I kept some clothes for you in Maya’s room. Go and pick them up.”
“Okay, mom. Thank you!” Piya and her friend, Lily, went to Maya’s room with joy.
Meanwhile, another guest, watching the girls run upstairs, turned to the lady in the red dress.
“She is such a sweet girl. But I thought Maya was your only daughter? Isn’t she still in California for her studies?”
The lady in the red dress smiled softly.
“Yes, Maya is my only biological daughter. Piya is actually from the orphanage right next door.”
“Oh? But she called you mom.”
“She did,” the lady’s eyes softened with memory.
“Her own mother passed away in an accident when she was very little. Years ago, we invited the orphanage children over for Christmas. Piya came up to me and, out of nowhere, called me ‘Mom’. To be honest, hearing it from her sweet voice warmed my heart so much, I simply never had the heart to stop her.”
Piya and Lily entered Maya’s room, their faces glowing with excitement and joy.
Immediately, Piya noticed a jacket placed on the bed.
Looking incredibly happy, she picked it up, slipped it on, and turned to look in the mirror.
“Look, Lily, it looks so beautiful!” she said with a bright smile.
“Do you know, I absolutely loved this jacket the very first time I saw Maya wearing it, and I used to think about when she would finally get tired of wearing it.”
Lily’s excitement, however, slowly faded away as she looked closer.
“But Piya… this is old and torn.”
“Oh, Lily, it is not torn,” Piya replied, entirely unbothered.
“The stitching is just a little weak here. And for me it’s new I will just sew a patch over it, and it will be completely hidden.”
“But Piya, it is someone else’s used clothes…” Lily pointed out hesitantly.
“So what?” Piya said gently.
“Mom gave it to me with so much love. You know, as long as we keep looking for flaws, we will only ever see flaws. You should look at its beauty instead.”
Lily couldn’t help but smile at her friend’s pure heart.
“Piya… you are so different.”
Piya looked at her reflection in the mirror, her smile softening.
“My mom also said the same thing.”