(Short Short) On a Sunny Day

On a sunny day, I set off on a journey.

Without even a moment to soak in the afterglow of the graduation ceremony, I was packing my trunk with who I had been and the hopes for who I would become.

My destination was a university overseas, across the ocean.

Until now, like a plant raised in a greenhouse, I had been carefully protected under the veil of my parents' deep affection.

However, when I started thinking about my future path, a small flame ignited deep within my chest.

"I want to see a wider world. I want to find what I can do for the people suffering there."

It took a long time for my parents to accept my dream, which was vague but held a certain intensity.

After many clashes and repeated conversations, I finally won my ticket to 'independence'.

In my father's car heading to the airport, the air was heavy and still.

The familiar scenery flowed past the window.

My mother in the passenger seat and my father gripping the steering wheel said nothing.

It was as if the sadness of parting had swallowed their words.

Just then, music began to play faintly from the car stereo.

It was a nostalgic hit song that I often heard in town when I was still small.

"Oh, this song."

Without anyone starting it, we all began to hum along softly.

Before long, it became a chorus of the three of us.

The music melted the air inside the car like magic, and the taut tension gently dissolved.

"From here on, I think you'll hit many high walls. But you'll be fine."

As the airport departure lobby came into view, my father said that in a steady voice.

My mother is nodding deeply as well.

It was the moment my overprotective parents were sending me off as an 'adult' for the first time.

The sky I looked up at after getting out of the car was clear as far as the eye could see.

With the dazzling sunlight at my back, I will not look back again.

Because I felt as though this sunny sky would continue to light the path I had chosen.

Fin.

*This novel is a work of fiction.
The items and people appearing in it do not exist.

↑I participated in this project.
Thank you very much.