Chapter 1: 

December 6th, 2010

It was early on a frosty December evening. It wasn't quite dinner time, but in the winter, the days seem to be shortened, for the light of day was quickly engulfed by the darkness of night. The snow had fallen the night before in the city. The wind was gentle. Everything seemed calm and at peace. It seemed like another typical day. Nothing special would happen. 

Mrs. Lee decided to go buy some pizza, which was a family favorite. Her family waited patiently for her at home. It was the first time in weeks maybe even months that they've all been together. Her husband was away overseas for a business meeting the previous weeks. Mrs. Lee was happy, and she felt at ease knowing that they would all finally be together. All she wanted was to get home and be with the people she loved most in the world, who gave her a reason to live. 

Smiling, she drove slowly down the street passing by familiar houses. The soft snow was falling, creating a thick blanket on the ground. With limited visibility due to the snowfall becoming heavier, she could only manage to see the headlights of cars or streetlights. Carefully, she analyzed the view in front of her before she signaled to the right and carefully turned the steering wheel. She approached a much busier road. She was very cautious about settings like this or with rain. She was always a cautious driver. 

She heaved a deep breath as she got into the first lane. She finally felt calm but suddenly she felt that her destination had become much farther away for some reason. The pizza place was only about 7 minutes drive away from their home but today it was taking a lot more time than expected. She felt abdominal pain, her stomach started to turn into knots for some reason. Her heart's beat commenced rapidly. She tried to ignore this feeling but the space in the car began to feel smaller. Her forehead began to sweat. She opened the side window and let the cold winter wind thump against her pale skin. Her long lean fingers bundled on the steering wheel. 

She continued looking down the lane. Her body trembled. Something was wrong, very wrong. She looked at the digital clock on her phone. It read the time: 5:26 pm. One of her hands left the steering wheel and reached for the radio. Instantly space was filled with Christmas music. Her body was still tensed up, but due to the soothing music she heartfelt a bit at ease. She didn't understand why she was feeling this way though. She suddenly wanted to stop the car and turn back home. She felt this guilt. She thought she was missing something. She felt like she forgot to tell her family something important. Could it have been the words "I love you?" 

At that moment Mrs. Lee was engrossed in her thoughts and didn't notice a truck ramming towards her. It was traveling much too fast for a snowy evening at 60 miles per hour. It crossed the centerline and was only a few inches away from her car. It was too late for Mrs. Lee to stop her car now but she pressed on the brake anyways hoping for a miracle. She hit the horn with all her might. Her heart raced faster than ever. BOOM! the truck had rammed right into the side of the car, her head hit the side of the driver's window. For her, the next few moments were bright lights, crunching glass, tearing metal, and the last verse of "Noel" from The Seasons. 

Her car continued to tumble to the right side. She rolled out the broken window, the impact had completely ruptured her head. She fell on her own massive pool of blood on the falling snow. Her head fissured open. The insides splattered on the snowy pavement. There was no way that she survived this accident. Muffled noises and blurry lights flashed before her, slowly she closed her eyes, and she managed to take her final breath. Her body was now lifeless. There was nothing else to do. She was dead. Why did this cruel world have to shorten the life of such a happy mother and wife, what did she do to deserve such a tragic fate?  

Back home, her family waited patiently for her. Mr. Lee sat at the coffee table scrolling down his emails on his laptop. He would occasionally sip on his coffee but keep his focus on his computer. His fraternal twin daughters were sitting by the piano and continued playing and singing their favorite Christmas song 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas'.  

Mr. Lee began to wonder what was taking his wife so long. An hour passed. He decided to call her. He dialed her number but her phone just rang. He looked out the window. Everything will be okay. 

He gave himself some more time until the phone rang once more. He reached in for his phone calmy. It was his wife he thought.

"Hello?" He softly greeted in his firm voice

"Hello is this Minho Lee?" The other person in the end questioned.

"Yes, that is me." He answered in Korean

His two twelve-year-old daughters watched as their father's face turned pale and lost the beauty it had. Before they could ask anything he dashed out of the room. The girls stood by the window and saw their father drive off without an explanation. That evening their life took a turn.    

Please log in to read the full chapter