"Was I able to change?" Episode 7

Before my eyes was young Sara, crying while acting as an interpreter on the phone. She was only three years old, and her speech was still clumsy. Even so, she was trying her hardest to interpret for me. Seeing her small shoulders tremble and her voice choke up made my heart ache.

On the screen, a black rotary phone sat in front of Sara. Her hands, clutching the receiver, were small, yet she was trying so hard to fulfill her role as an interpreter. The sight was far too painful. Thinking about how much she had struggled for my sake, tears welled up in my eyes.

The person on the other end of the line was my mother. My mother was a strict person, and she spoke to Sara without mercy. "Speak clearly, Sara. You can't see my face on the phone, so use your words properly," my mother's voice rang out through the receiver. Sara was desperate to follow those instructions, but the burden was too great, and tears spilled over.

"Sara, tell me what she's saying," I had also demanded of Sara. Caught between my mother and me, she struggled to get the words out, yet she tried her best to speak. Her figure, trying to convey my mother's words accurately while holding back tears, was so brave.

"Pronounce it properly, Sara," my mother said even more sternly. Sara gripped the receiver tightly with her small hands, trying her best even as she cried. Every time her shoulders shook and her voice choked, I felt as if my heart were being squeezed.

At first, Sara cried out like a child, but gradually I could see her suppressing her voice, trying to hold back her tears. Her small body looked as if it were carrying a heavy burden. Even so, she was trying her best at three years old to do what she couldn't. Between my mother's harsh words and my expectations, Sara was trying her hardest while crying.

I gently placed my hand on her shoulder, trying to convey its warmth. However, in this world I was viewing through the app, neither Sara nor my mother could see me. My voice and sounds did not reach them, and I could only watch over the scene.

Suddenly, my eyes caught the toy heart pendant that young Sara was clutching. This was a small prize that came with a snack when she was little, something Sara had wanted so badly. Remembering how she had wanted this pendant more than the snack, that adorable scene came back to me.

"Thank you, Sara. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you back then that you did your best. You really worked so hard. You don't have to push yourself so much. I can say that now," I whispered in my heart. As if to convey those words, I gently picked up the pendant and placed it in Sara's hand. Strangely, I was able to grasp the pendant.

At that moment, the pendant, filled with my feelings, glowed and began to blink. The radiance of the pendant illuminated Sara's tears, and it seemed as if that light reached her heart. I gently placed the pendant around Sara's neck.

"I'm sorry, thank you," I repeated in my heart, staying close to her. When Sara's hand clutched the pendant, her expression seemed to soften just a little. Even while shedding tears, she seemed a little relieved by the warmth.

My heart was filled with a tightening pain as I watched the scene. Because she had a disability, because she couldn't hear, I thought I had to raise her strictly, so I never praised her. Looking back, I realized it had been that way since she was very young. Regret welled up in my chest for having made her do that when she was just a child. I could convey my feelings now, but the me of that time could not.

For a fleeting moment, I felt as if Sara had given me a little smile.

At the same time, the pendant's glow intensified, and the message "You have cleared this scene. Would you like to proceed to the next scene?" appeared on the screen again. Renewing my resolve to stay close to Sara's pain in my heart, I decided to proceed to the next scene.

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