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A Young Artist’s Ever Incomplete Family Portrait (Part 6 of 6)

April 11, 2021 |   By Rong Rong

(Minghui.org) Continued from Part 5.

A Winding Journey to Reunion

When Minghui was still in China, she’d visit Dad and tell him about Mom, then visit Mom and tell her about Dad. Dad always said, “Tell Mom I am good,” and Mom always said, “Tell Dad I am doing well.”

Mom visited Dad after her release in 2014 but it was always hit-or-miss. Even when she did get to see him, he was always the last one to come out. Visitations ended at 11:30 a.m. Ms. Wang made sure to always get there early but Mr. Yu often didn’t come out until past 11 a.m., if at all. Sometimes they didn’t have much time to chat and only exchanged a look through the glass that separated them. When they did talk, the subject always revolved around the “kiddo.” Mom and Dad still call her “child” or “kiddo” even though Minghui is now a young adult.

Now it has been more than 20 years since the three of them have been together. 

The last time she was with both of her parents was in 2001. Back then, Dad has been on the run for a while to avoid being arrested. Out of the blue, Mom took her to the river one day. As they walked down the riverbank, she suddenly saw a familiar figure in the distance. Burst with joy, Minghui ran toward Dad and tackled him in a hug. She grabbed his hand and pressed her face into his jacket. 

A family friend’s thoughtful arrangement helped to create the happiest and most precious memory for Minghui. Dad was there, Mom was there, and the Mudan River was there to witness it.

Now living in the U.K., Minghui had hoped that Mom and Dad could join her. But when the couple went to the local office of Civil Affairs, they were told that they would not be issued passports nor allowed to leave the country.

With Mom now facing prison time again, Minghui is constantly worried whether she would be tortured again in custody and whether Dad can take good care of himself.

The Vivid Memory

When Minghui misses her parents, she, again and again, replayed everything she could recall from childhood in her mind, so that she could see Mom’s smiles and sparkling eyes again.

When she was little, Dad had poor health and a busy work schedule. Mom carried Minghui in a sling on her back and did all the house chores. A chubby baby in tow, she carried coal lumps, cooked, and did laundry. 

When Minghui was in preschool, Mom installed a small seat on her bicycle which became Minghui’s throne. Each morning, she left home early with Mom and in the evening she went home with Mom. All through elementary school, Mom took her to school, picked her up after, then took her to art classes, an accordion lesson, and other extracurricular activities. Mom carried the heavy accordion for her to her lesson and then back home without complaint. 

Minghui won a competition one time and got a tablet as an award which she quickly exchanged for a plastic bracelet with a friend. Mom heard of it and just smiled. When Minghui was in seventh grade, a friend’s parents divorced and she couldn’t afford tuition. Minghui gave her friend all her money saved up from allowances and Chinese New Year red envelopes. Mom was proud of her. 

In Dad’s words, Mom is a simple person. She doesn’t put a lot of emphasis on herself. She doesn’t know how to wear makeup nor does she spend a lot of time on appearance. However, if someone asks her for help, it was a big deal and she’d go all out to help. After she became a practitioner of Falun Dafa, she assimilates to Dafa’s principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance and cultivated diligently. While others try to live up to the standards of the Fa and be a good person, to Mom it feels like second nature as she is genuinely a selfless and kind person.

Grandpa gave Mom two big albums of stamps in 1999, including many rare items and limited editions that have long since continued. The two collections were worth more than 500,000 yuan in total. At the time, a single house in their city only cost 10,000 yuan. 

Dad brought the stamps to work to have them evaluated by a co-worker and they just disappeared. That co-worker was the only person he had shown them to and it just so happened that his wife was seriously ill at the time and the treatments were expensive. 

After much contemplation, Dad carefully asked Mom to not report it to the police, worried that this co-worker could be sentenced to up to 10 years—his family would be destroyed. As if it was nothing, Mom smiled, “Sure.” She never mentioned those stamps again. 

A practitioner who endured brutal torture was in very bad shape. She was covered with wounds that festered and had frequent bouts of vomiting and diarrhea. The stench filled the space. As if she smelled nothing, Mom calmly attended to the practitioner. When the practitioner’s condition worsened, Dad asked, “Should we take her home to care for her?” Mom nodded, “Sure.” It was that simple.

To cut down on food expenses, Mom always waited until the end of the day to go to the market and bought leftover vegetables for cheap—a big pile for just one yuan. She wore used clothes given to her by other practitioners. However, she bought two of everything and gave one to another practitioner who didn’t have any source of income. If she hears of a person in need, she’d take everything in her pocket and give it to that person. That is Mom.

Dad brings the fun, Mom brings coziness, and Minghui brings joy and endless hope to the family. 

When will this family ever be together again?

Let the Mudan (Peony) Flower Blossom

Northern ChinaThere is a city that is not bigFlower is the water and the water is the flowerMudan River, Mudan RiverLived little Minghui and her family

Mom is an engineerDad knows how to drawThe entire family believes in Truthfulness-Compassion-ForbearanceThey love each other and shared a good life

Dad was imprisonedMom was incarceratedThe house crumbled and sky fell—the home was goneA girl twelve years oldHow did she grow up

Unyielding DadRibs broken and no teeth leftAlive he returned homeStrong-minded Momtied to the iron chair and endured tortureHer hair turned gray

Amazing little Minghui She went away to the end of the world and waited for Mom and DadThe red evil’s prison bars, againsevered freedomIn the bitter winterSnow fell, again

Kind peopleLet us witnessThe best of humanityPriceless is the truth Kind peopleLet us call for –

Let Mudan, blossomLet Mom, come homeLet Mudan, blossomLet Mom, come home

(The end)

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