Translated…
Actress C took the passage that I’d written, started, reciting it aloud, “The plants that the actors have all die off easily, and, our family members often became scattered, not knowing what to do with us, and our spouses are always, heartbroken—are you, writing, about me?”, she’d smiled, cunningly.
She studied law in college, and, as she’s about to graduate, she’d realized, that she was, in the wrong major, that she should’ve majored in drama, and so, she’d tried her hardest, to get auditions. And, gladly, luck was on her side, she’d started, working, but, her days and nights were often, flipped upside down, and, she was, in the midst, of something that all actors and actresses had, dealt with—the unsupportiveness of her own parents. Sometimes as she rehearsed or acted on stage, she didn’t get home until the midnight hours, if she was on the set of a film, she’d needed to, work, all through the nights, and, on the days that the typhoons came, she’d still needed to show up for work. Back then, she’d just graduated college and was living at home, at first, her parents wouldn’t understand her choice in occupation, and, after several fights, they’d started, accepting her choice, and that, was when she’d found, that her father would, wait up in the living room for her every single day. Sometimes, her father would, doze off on the couch, and, at others, the moment she’d walked into the doors, her father hollered out to her that her mother made some soup and saved it for her. She’d always told her dad not to wait up, but also understood, that some things, that she’d said to her loved ones, are wind through their ears.
performances on stage…not my photo.
Several years later, she’d moved out of her parents’, and all of a sudden, she’d felt, that surge of freedom so strong, but, as she’d come home every day, she’d felt, depressed to, by her darkened apartment complex. There was a small balcony of her small apartment, one day, she’d bought a few pots of herbs, hoped, to add a little more life to her residence. And still, as she got busier, she’d not watered her herbs for two days, and, that pot of mint became withered, looking like those baked tea leaves. One day, her dad brought over a plate and a plastic bottle, and, started making something inside her small garden, and, proudly told her after he finished up, that this, is an automated watering system, that all she needed to do, was to fill up the plastic bottle with water, then, put the bottle upside down onto the plate, then, the small potted plant will then, absorb the water from the bottom, that a full bottle of water should last about three to five days. Ever since, when I’d gone to visit her at her home, I always had the fresh mint teas.
For a period of time, she’d broken up with someone—in less than a year, her boyfriend called it quits, he couldn’t stand the fact, that there’s no set date times, and even for the very first time that they’d wanted to, celebrate with one another, for their birthdays, he’d sat alone, as a part of the audience, and sang happy birthday to her. She’d cried and told, of how she was, dumped, I’d tried my best, to console with her, handed her the Kleenex. I’d recently come to understand, that seeing the one you loved happy, is the most practical kind of birthday wish. She’d asked me why I’d not said anything? I’d told her, the words I’d wanted to say to you, you’ll probably, say to yourself in the futures, so, you should, wait until then, and hear those words from yourself.
Her cat, jumped onto the tables, sniffed my mint tea. She is about to go on tour with her troupe for a month, we are neighbors, and I’d agreed to feed her cat daily, and on the weekends, her parents will take over. She’d decided to adopt the cat six months after she broke up with her boyfriend, she kept doubting, that if she was, any fitting, to have another life with her; I’d told her, “We’d already, thrown our life and lifestyle into acting already, if you really don’t have anything that worries you, then, it should, raise an alarm to you.
I saw how she’d held her cat toward her face, and the cat was, rubbing onto her face, it seemed, that I could smell, the scent of dirt from my dog’s paws too, that, was the most, real sort of a feeling of belonging, as I’d, come home every single day.
So, this, is about having a home, how having a place to turn to, when the world beats you down is a necessity, there, you’ll feel safe, with NO worries of any sort, and just, do whatever you need to, to make yourself heal back up, and ready, for the battles that come next in your lives.