Vida was in deep thought as she drove to the location of her new restaurant, recently promoted to the role she had always dreamed of. The call from one of her biggest customers, a renowned TV star, promising a substantial payment for a live show about a Christmas cooking marathon, had initially filled her with excitement. A smile formed on her lips as a tear trickled down her cheek. So much had transpired in the past 30 years. She had made numerous sacrifices, abandoned some of her dreams, and discarded others because she had no one to share them with.

Her thoughts drifted to Lily. What was all that commotion back at the house about?

Vida knew Lily missed her father deeply, but couldn't she see that everything she did was for her? Vida wanted Lily to have a better childhood and life than she had ever had. She didn't want her daughter to abandon her passions and dreams just because she wasn't always there for her.

Moving away from their old house was supposed to be a fresh start, a chance for them to be together and for her to take better care of Lily. This contract, this opportunity, was supposed to bring in enough money to make life more comfortable, to make Lily happy. But maybe, just maybe, Vida hadn't tried hard enough. Maybe she needed to do better.

The drive to her new restaurant took an hour. When she arrived, her customer, none other than Tia Mowry from "Sister, Sister," had already arrived with her crew. Vida's assistant was helping them out until she finally walked into the restaurant.

"Hi, how are you doing?" Tia greeted warmly.

"I'm good, thank you," Vida replied with a half-hearted smile.

"I was in town and wanted to do something big this year. I thought, why not something people love that also aligns with the holiday spirit? When I heard you had just opened your biggest restaurant here, I felt like my prayers had been answered."

Vida forced another smile, her mind preoccupied with thoughts of Lily. Noticing her distraction, Tia asked gently, "Is everything okay, Vida? I've been talking about how this is going to be a big step in my cooking show and your career, especially since you're just opening your restaurant. It would make such a great impression, but I can tell you're not really listening. Is something the matter?"

"Yeah, I'm so sorry. It's just my daughter, Lily. She lost her dad not too long ago, and she's been going through a lot. We had a little disagreement back at home. She didn't like the idea of me coming here tonight, especially since we just moved."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. If I'd known, I could've scheduled the event for another time."

"Yeah," Vida sighed. "But I needed the money for her. We've been so financially drained since my husband's death, and like you said, this could make a great first impression."

"Vida, I'm so sorry about your husband. I understand how much this opportunity means to you, as much as it means to me. It's admirable that you're trying to take care of Lily, to make sure she has the best. But... maybe the best you can give her is your time. Maybe she just needs her mother."

The realization hit Vida hard. She had been so focused on creating the life she never had for Lily, the life she wished she had when her own father had passed away, but in doing so, she had distanced herself from her daughter.

"I'm calling off the event. I will reschedule it for after Christmas", Tia implied. "That's even better. During Christmas, there are always so many events that people don't have much time for shows like this. But after Christmas, they still crave that little bit of Christmas spirit. Let's do the show after Christmas."
"Vida," Tia called softly, "Lily needs you now. You have to go back for her."

Vida smiled more genuinely than she had all day and embraced her friend. "Thank you so much for opening my eyes," she said.

"It's a pleasure. Have a wonderful Christmas Eve."

"Thanks, you too," Vida bid her goodbye before leaving the premises.

☃☃☃☃

The loudspeakers at the bus station called for the last time, urging everyone to board before the bus departed. Lily clutched her backpack and looked back once more. She knew her mom wouldn't agree with her decision, but she felt it was the right thing to do. At least, her heart said so. She boarded the bus and took a seat at the back beside a woman with two boisterous children.

Lily was silent throughout the trip, her thoughts racing. The little girl beside her dropped a ball, which rolled forward. Lily stopped it with her foot and bent down to pick it up, handing it back to the girl. The girl smiled, revealing a missing tooth, and Lily recognized her. It was the girl from the family she had given money to last Christmas Eve. She didn't want to announce her presence, but the girl recognized her too.

"You're the one who gave our mommy money," the girl said excitedly.

Lily gave her a shy smile. "Mommy, mommy," the girl tugged at her mother. "This is the girl that gave us money the last time."

The woman turned to look at Lily and recognized her immediately. "Oh, hi."

"Umm, hi," Lily responded, giving the woman a small smile.

"I just want to take this opportunity to thank you again for that night. I don't know what would have happened to me and my children if you hadn't shown us kindness. I had lost my job that month, and my alcoholic husband had gotten drunk and set our house on fire. Luckily, my children were at school that day. I narrowly escaped with my life."

"I'm so sorry that you had to go through all that," Lily said.

"It's fine. I had no job and no money, and none of my family was here—they were all in Mexico. I wanted to go back because I had nothing left here, but I didn't have even a penny to get home, and my son Gabriel has asthma, which was a constant worry. That night, the money you gave us helped us get food and medicine for Gabriel. I decided to go back to my hometown with the money left, but luckily, I met an old schoolmate who was my best friend in high school. She worked at a bank and offered me a place to stay. I got a job as a cashier at a mall, which pays enough to take care of me and my family."

Lily was lost for words. She just sat there and listened to the woman's fascinating story.

"If it hadn't been for you and your family that night, I wouldn't be here. Thank you very much," she said, taking Lily's hand.

"It was nothing, really. I'm just glad you're doing well now."

“Please express my gratitude to your mom and dad for me.” Lily bowed her head in frustration. “Is something wrong?” the woman asked with concern.

“My dad, he died of cancer a few months ago.”

“Oh, sweetie, I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks. He was a good man, so I know he’s in a better place now. He was too good for this world anyway.”

“What about your mom?”

“She’s doing well.”

“If you don’t mind me asking,” the woman continued in a serene tone, “where are you going all by yourself?”

Lily was quiet for a moment before answering. “I’m going to deliver an important parcel to someone special.”

“Oh, I see. Did your mom agree for you to deliver the parcel to this special someone on your own?”

“Actually... no,” Lily answered, the sorrow unmistakable in her voice. “My mom probably doesn’t even know I’m gone right now. She’s at work. Ever since my dad died, all she ever does is work, work, and work. She never has time for me. We had a little argument this evening. She said she had to go to her workplace to check on an important issue, but I wanted her to stay with me, to even have a look at my parcel. She didn’t. I feel like she doesn’t care about me anymore.”

“No, don’t say that. I’m sure your mom loves you very much.”

“Then why is she doing this to me? I agreed to move here so she could have a big milestone in her work. I left our old home, though I didn’t want to because I felt like I was leaving my dad behind, but she only talks about work.” The tears began to gather at the corners of Lily’s eyes now.

“I’m so sorry that this is happening and wish you didn’t have to go through that, but maybe your mom is doing all these things for you. Sometimes parents strain themselves just to give their children a better life, a comfortable and happy life, but it may seem that they’re distancing themselves from you. Maybe you should try and see things from your mom’s perspective.”

Lily began to realize now. She began to feel bad. She hadn’t really tried to see things from her mother's point of view.



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