The Melody of Memories

In the time of the first fall of the year, when the stillness of the morning slowly started to fade, Chad’s office in New York City overlooked the bustling streets below. His colossal mansion that was next to his office was a testament to his success as a businessman. But beneath his successful career, Chad harbored a deep-seated pain that had been plunging his heart for years. Whenever he looked at himself in the mirror that revealed the true identity of him, he was reminded that he was an orphan, abandoned by his mother he had never seen before. All that he knew about his mother was that she disposed him when he was not even a month old. Amidst his loneliness and loveless life, he moved on to build a life for himself.

In his opulent mansion, one object stood out—a dusty, antique musical box. It was the only thing his mother had left for him when he was a child. What more could be expected from a mother who decided to let go of her newborn baby? But it’s quite unusual that she didn’t leave clothes, money for him, but a musical box. What’s so precious about it? For Chad, it was just a musical box! He developed hatred for his mother and never wanted to hear the musical box. It’s indeed an evidence of his traumatic childhood.

Chad is no longer alone. His maid, Rose, had been taking care of him since he hired her. She was an old, kind-hearted woman with slight wrinkles near her eyes. One day, while dusting the living room, she noticed an old musical box. She caressed it with her palms and turned towards Chad.

“Mr. Chad, what’s this?” she asked.

“Does it play music?”

Her question sounded as though she never knew how a musical box would look like. Glancing at what Rose was touching, Chad replied in a stern voice,

“Leave it alone, it’s nothing!”

Rose didn’t seem to leave Chad without getting answers for her soul. Her curiosity triggered her to question Chad over and over.

“Oh, Mr. Chad, seems like you hold a strong connection to it… Was it given by your mother?”

“Stop talking about her!”

Rose was startled, yet she continued.

“Pardon me, Mr. Chad, but I think you never listened to it. It’s just my suggestion… Instead of building your own assumptions about this box, why don’t you try listening to what’s in the musical box?”

Chad burst out in anger before she could expect a positive word from him.

“I said leave it alone! You don’t need to enquire me! Who are you to suggest that I should listen to it? If you are done with your works here, you can leave early.”

Chad’s anger had left her shaken. In a fit of rage, Chad tried to break the musical box, but it slipped from his hands and fell to the floor. The musical box began to play automatically. It was his mother’s voice—soft as a snowflake.

“Chad, my dear son… I hope you get to hear mommy once. You might be mad at me for abandoning you when you were not more than a month old. My son, I wanted to save you from your dad, who wanted me to abort you. How could a mother kill her own child? But mommy had no way to save you, so I left you in an orphanage as soon as you were discharged from the hospital. Forgive me, my son… please. I beg this universe to show your face to my eyes before I leave this world.”

Chad melted down in grief. His eyes immediately searched for his maid, Rose, to apologize to her for yelling at her. He goes out to see if Rose had left but only witnesses her being hit by a car, flooded with blood.

“Rose!” screamed Chad.

He rushed to her, held her in his palms.

“I’m sorry, my son… please forgive me. I didn’t know that you would hate me this much. Mom… mommy loves you so much.”

Rose breathed her last. Chad lost his mother twice. The voice from the musical box echoed in his mind, reminding him of the love and sacrifice of his mother that had been hidden from him.