Valentine & Memories

Family isn’t always blood. It’s the people in your life who want you in theirs; the ones who accept you for who you are. The ones that would do anything to see you smile and who love you no matter what.

Aurelie will never forget that pleasant day; the faint chirping of birds and golden rays of sunshine. A fresh smell is in the air. That place. That scenery. She may not remember that place someday, but for sure there is one thing that would leave an impression in her mind…

The Ferris Wheel.

Its large circular shape shines brightly in the sunlight. It is smooth and shiny like a brand new ring. The cabins have different colors; cherry red, banana yellow, grassy green, royal blue, etc.

She was standing a few meters away from it while waiting for her father whom she hadn't met for the past ten years of her life. That moment is the most awaited one… until she received a call from her mother.

"He won't be coming to see you, Aurelie."

She was supposed to be home by now after school, but because she was excited to meet her father for the first time, she went straight to the amusement park where they are supposed to meet each other. She knows her father loves going to amusement parks from what her mother told her.

But, what happened now?

Aurelie can feel the pain piercing her heart knowing that the person she was longing to see, hug, and be with couldn't keep his promise. She is only ten years old, but she is aware of the outcome of her life since her parents weren't even married. She was born out of wedlock, but how about pure love?

She wanted to cry, but her mother said she is a big girl now and she should be able to endure things that were superficial and not worthy of her tears. This is what she did before having the thought of leaving the amusement park.

As Aurelie walked to the exit of the park, a boy who was crying while sitting on a bench in the open area caught her attention. He seems to be lost and she can find no parent in the same area. She first observed the people surrounding and passing by the child until she noticed no one was even caring about the situation of the poor boy.

Later, a woman suddenly approached the crying boy, so Aurelie was confident that the boy's situation would be alright even if she didn’t interfere at first. However, in less than a minute the woman left, and the boy cried again.

Looks like that wasn't the mother of the boy.

Aurelie doesn't know if she should approach the boy and help find his parents, but she worries that her mother might look for her. She decided to just ignore the child and continued walking out of the park. 

She had not gone far yet when she felt a drop of water come from the sky. She stopped walking and looked up, seeing how dark the sky was and she did not hesitate to run back inside the park again for which she entered the exit area.

Luckily, there are no guards noticing her.

She searched from where she had seen the boy, and he was still there on the bench, still crying.