Suming Chen

( ())

I sat on the living room couch, watching my father pack his bags. He got up and walked over to the dining table and got his car keys with his luggage in both hands. I asked where he was going a million times, but he wouldn't answer my simple question. As he got ready to walk out the door, he looked back at me with uncertainty and guilt. He opened his mouth and told me to take care of my brother and to behave myself. He turned back around and shut the door slowly behind him. A tear rolled down my left cheek and another one came to accompany it. I ran back to my room and jumped on my bed, burying my face in my pillow with the thought of my dad abandoning us racing through my head. 

( )

My mother came home that night and asked where my father had gone. I looked at her, afraid to tell her he had left us. I knew I couldn't hide the news from her forever and decided to tell her. She smiled at me and said she didn't care. I looked at her closely and could see sadness and anger written across her face. Her eyes started to get watery, but she held back and kept the ice in her eyes from melting. She walked quietly back to her room and shut the door carefully behind her.  

The next morning, my mother made me and my brother breakfast. I sat on the dining room table watching her crack eggs. Her eyes were puffy and red, and her voice trembled. It sounded like it hurt her to talk, afraid she might cry an ocean in front of her children.  

She got ready for work that morning and came back home at night. She looked tired as she walked through the door and gave us a cheerful smile. Even though I knew she was hurting inside, she still kept that fake act in front of us and kept me and my brother from worrying about her.

"When the first Superman movie came out I was frequently asked "What is a hero?" ...My answer was that a hero is someone who commits a courageous action without considering the consequences... now my definition is completely different. I think "a hero is an ordinary individual who finds strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." (Christopher Reeve) My mother is my hero. No matter what happened, she would always try to make it seem like a little thing and that everything will get better in time. She's the strongest person I know and I love her for everything she has done for me and my brother.