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<b> Sand Castles - Life When I was still a young boy, my parents doted on me. I was the only child in the family and my parents cared alot for me. My mother's presence build warmth and love in my heart, while my father's presence gave me strength and courage. Despite having a business to run, my parents always have time for me. They have work-life balance and to them, the business and family are of equal priority. My father is the person who taught me well, who brought me up well, making me for who I am today. He has taught me many valuable lessons and skills that will make me a better man. There is this incident that happened when I was only eight, but the memory stays firmly in my head... *********************** It was the day the former King Yuri was pronouced dead, and the Koguryo Palace was having the funeral of the beloved King. Many citizens had tears in their eyes, everyone was mourning. It was a silent, yet filled with emotions ambience. No one was smiling, as they are dressed in a songbok, holding on to a bamboo stick, in respect to the late King. I was young, I was unable to understand why everyone was feeling that way, why there was nothing that could be done, why did His Majesty, have to finally fall asleep and never wake up again? "Daddy.. is the King Yuri very sleepy? Why isn't he going to wake up? Why is everyone crying? Is the Prince going to be okay? He looks really sad.." I asked my father, while holding his hands, standing at thigh level of everyone else that was attending the funeral. He ruffles my hair and smiled, "You sure are one inquisitive boy.. lets go to the beach and enjoy some sea breeze" ****************** The sandy beach had not a single soul, only the sounds of the repeating waves could be heard. The sun was retreating into the horizon as the moon starts to rise. My dad walked to the sand, sat down and started building a sandcastle with his bare hands. He scooped sand with his hands and started moulding them into the shape of a mini castle. No matter how much he tried making the castle even, there will always be bits and pieces of sand falling and crumbling off. "Son, building of a sandcastle is just like living our life. Things will never go the way we want, but they are just minor and small obstacles of life. If something falls apart, all you need to do, is to find some other stuffs to use as support, such as friends or families or loved ones." He carried on... "A sand castle will look magnificent once its completed, standing upright, facing the rapid waves with no fear. Perfection, just like how we want life to be. Everyone will want to try their hardest, to strive for what they really want, to achieve their aims and goals. However.. no matter how magnificent and sturdy a sandcastle might look, they are fragile.. It will topple if someone were to stomp their foot on it, it will fall apart if a wave hits it. Life is fragile too. Health, age, illness and death, are parts and parcel of life and no one can avoid it.." "The King was magnificent and ruled our land with pride, all of us respected and acknowledged him as our leader. Unfortunately, his time has come to leave us all, to depart from this world. He has passed on to the nether world. Son, we should accept it, and not brood over it. Life is unpredictable to a certain extent, because in the end, we all die.. You understand?" "Yes daddy. I will be strong!" "Good.." -He smiles- ************************* My father passed away three days later. He was ill. He managed to prepare me mentally before he passed away. To my father; You're noble. I love you. RisenOne | |