She Only Lived For You

Sometimes you don’t realize what love will make a person do, especially for a mother. In a small town, located in the Eastern Province of Afghanistan, there lived a woman with her son. For the purpose of this story, I will refer to the mother as “Mina” and the son as “Hamid”. Mina and Hamid lived in a small house, with very few provisions. Her husband had passed away when Hamid was an infant. They had no other family, only each other. Mina took any job offers and would usually work two or three jobs at the same time. She loved her son very much and exhausted herself to give Hamid anything she possibly could. Hamid had just started school and Mina took on more jobs to pay for the extra expenses. She wanted him to have the same opportunities as the other children had. One day she received word that her son was in the hospital. She raced to the hospital with all the fears that a mother has upon learning that her child has been hurt. When she arrived the doctor informed her Hamid had been involved in an accident at school. His injury was not life-threatening and he would be released from the hospital within a few days. She stayed at the hospital with him and never left his side. Her only concern was her son and his future.

As the years passed, Hamid kept distancing himself from his mother. She had been employed as a lunch lady in his school cafeteria. She treasured this job because she was able to see Hamid. When it was lunch, he would pass through the line while avoiding eye contact and conversation with his mother. One particular day Hamid was eating lunch with his classmates when one of the boys brought up his mother in the group. “Have you guys seen her eye? It looks like a rotten grape!” Another boy replied “She should wear a bag over her head, so we don’t have to look at her!” Hamid never said a word in her defense and laughed along with the other boys. Hamid continued to avoid his mother and focus on his schoolwork. He was enrolled in many advanced classes and studied hard. He knew the only way out of that small town and away from his mother was to get a scholarship for college. He was about to get his wish. During the routine lunch announcements, his name was called over the speaker as the recipient of the school’s coveted scholarship. Everyone in the lunchroom applauded and his friends pat his back and gave him high-fives. A few minutes later, his mother wobbled over to the table he was at with his friends. She tapped his shoulder and said “Son, I’m so proud of you. I always knew you would accomplish wonderful things.” Hamid’s face turned red and his friends snickered. “Dude, your MOM is the LUNCH LADY?!!” Hamid was so embarrassed and replied “No, that’s my adoptive mother. My real parents were killed in a car accident.” He chuckled “That gross, old woman could never be anyone’s mother.” As Hamid and his friends laughed, his mother silently walked away. When lunch was over, Hamid waited until everyone left the room and went to find his mother. As he approached his mother, she could see the anger on his face. “Son, I’m sorry if I embarrassed you in front of your friends. I just wanted to tell you I’m proud of you.” Full of anger, Hamid yelled “Haven’t you noticed I never acknowledge you?! You are an embarrassment to yourself and to me! Just look at yourself in the mirror! You should wear an eyepatch because it’s disgusting to look at!” As tears rolled out of her one good eye she said “I’m sorry Hamid. I will never do that again. I love you son”. As Hamid turned to walk out of the lunchroom he replied “Well, I don’t love you and I’m counting down the days I get to leave this town and leave you!”

True to his word, he left the town and enrolled in a college hours away from his mother. Hamid excelled in college and successfully completed with his master’s degree. He never went to visit his mother and had minimal contact with her. While attending college, he met a beautiful woman and the two were married. Soon thereafter, they had a son. Hamid rarely spoke to his mother, even though she always tried to speak with him through the telephone.

One Saturday, there was a knock at the front door of his beautiful family home. His son answered the door, and never seeing his grandmother before, he yelled out “Dad, there is a homeless woman at the door!” Hamid saw who it was and told his son to go back inside. As she tried to peer inside the home at her grandson, she said “Son you have a beautiful home and a beautiful family. I always knew you would accomplish wonderful things.” Hamid said “What are you doing here and how do you know where I live?” Mina relied “The neighbor’s son back home said the two of you still talk to each other and gave me your address because I have this letter to give you.” “Son, may I please see my grandchild?” Hamid said “No, you would only frighten him with your grotesque appearance. Ten years later and you still manage to be an embarrassment.” Mina looked down at the ground and said “Hamid, I’m sorry I’ve caused you so much embarrassment in your life. I will never bother you again. But please know this, I have always been proud of you and loved you.” As she walked away the only sound she heard was the door slamming closed.

A few months later, Hamid received a phone call from his friend back home. “Hi Hamid, how are you doing? I’m sorry to tell you this but your mom passed away. The bank is going to take the house. If there’s any items you want, you probably should come get them soon.” Hamid thanked his friend and ended the call with a growing sense of dread. The next day he arrived back to his childhood home to collect some of his former possessions. As he entered the house, he noticed how empty and sparse it was. Her kitchen was bare of food, her closet bare of clothes. Then he entered his room and saw it was exactly the same as he left it all those years before. A nice bed, television, dresser full of clothes, toys in the closet, and games stashed under the bed. On his bed was the letter his mother had tried to give him months prior. Hamid sat on the bed and proceeded to read the last words his mother had for him.

“My dearest son, Hamid, I feel that I may pass away soon and want to tell you some things. You have always been the most important person in my life. The moment you were born, was the moment I knew true love existed. Everything I ever did in my life was for you. I would sacrifice anything for you. The last few years were financially unstable for me. I sold most of my belongings so I could keep your room exactly the same, in case you ever returned. I worked multiple jobs to provide you with the most I could. All I ever wanted was for you to have a happy and successful life. Even if that meant I was not to be part of your life. I’m sorry my appearance is repulsive and drove you away. I’m sorry for the embarrassment it caused you. Son, I want to tell you something about your past. When you were a young child, you were involved in an accident at school. You had fallen off of playground equipment. You landed on your face and your left eye was completely destroyed. Your eye could never be repaired to what it was. The thought of you being disadvantaged and teased by others was something I refused to let happen. As you recovered in the hospital, I also recovered in the hospital with you. We recovered from a transplant surgery my dearest son. You see, I couldn’t let you go through life that way so I gave you one of my eyes. I never regretted my decision and would repeat it again if I had to because son, I only lived to love you.”