The Mosquito Coil
When I was a child, there was one simple thing I could never do properly.
I could never separate a mosquito coil without breaking it.
No matter how carefully I tried to pull the two spirals apart, one of them would snap. Sometimes both would break.
My father could do it effortlessly.
Whenever I struggled, he would smile, take the coil from my hands and gently separate the two spirals. I watched him do it so easily and wondered why something so difficult for me seemed so simple to him.
It was one of those little things I took for granted.
As children, we often believe our fathers can do almost anything. Their hands seem strong enough to fix whatever we cannot manage.
Years passed.
Today, my father's hands are no longer as steady as they once were. He has grown older and now depends on us to help him with simple everyday tasks.
Sometimes, when I help him, I remember those mosquito coils.
I remember his hands carefully separating the fragile spirals, and how easily he made my little problem disappear.
Now it is my turn to help him with the things he can no longer do.
And whenever I do, I remember the father whose hands once made everything seem so easy.
Told by: anonymous
Written by: Sam Choo
Story Tags: Fatherhood, Childhood Memories, Family Love
