An excerpt from the Book "The Legend Of Tai & Burung Elang" by Roy Alexander Graham. (Shared in honor of Mother's Day and National Children's Book Week 2015)
Tai spent more time than usual in Hekima’s company that day. Even when they were not talking, she just felt very comfortable being around this compassionate, dignified woman. Hekima encouraged her to think and to have confidence in her thoughts. The subject of dreaming came up in their conversation.
“You say you can determine your dreams?” asked Hekima.
“I have done that many times,” said Tai.
“Well, what do you wish for most?” asked Hekima. Tai was about to answer, but Hekima gently placed her index finger to her own lips.
“Just think about it,” she said. Tai heard and understood Hekima’s direction to her. “You are so much like the mother I have missed so much and for so long,” said Tai, looking gently into Hekima’s face. Hekima stretched out her arms, and Tai came to her eagerly.
In a moment that they both recognized, Hekima gathered the young woman to her chest and embraced her. As she did, Tai felt a torrent of tears well up from an ocean of unexplored emotions within herself. Hekima held her closer, allowing her head to rest on her bosom. And as she held her close, her blouse became the refuge of tears long held back by a daughter who had for so long missed the affections of her mother. Something about being held in this woman’s bosom took her back, way back to a moment she had long forgotten.
As she listened to Hekima breathe, she felt again the connection between herself and her long lost-mother. This was, for her, a moment of reconnection. And in that moment, she felt a peace and completeness about herself that she had never experienced before. This connection was cathartic in a way that she long needed. These tears were like a river from within that carried in them the debris of a life broken in so many ways and for so long. Between her deep, wet breaths, Tai heard herself whisper, “I love you, Hekima.”
And Hekima, in full recognition of the import of the moment, whispered, “And I love you too, my child.”
And from that moment, they would hold each other close, even after they let each other go. They had built a bond between them that would transcend time and distance. After the extended embrace, they held each other at arm’s length, allowing for the necessary registering of the transaction they had just created. “I am sorry for making a mess of your blouse,” Tai offered, holding her head slightly down in shy appreciation. Hekima reached out and gently raised Tai’s face so that she was looking directly in her eyes and said, “No need to be sorry, Tai. Never apologize for the course that your heart takes. Learn to live in that moment and all that comes with it. When your tears are as rare and as precious as they are, you should treasure them. Treat them as the sacred gifts that they are. I am honored to share your precious gifts, my child.”
"The Legend Of Tai & Burung Elang" is the second book in The Empowerment Series For Children by Roy & Monica Graham.
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