Jocasta's Journey: Jean Valjean and His Mother's Adventure.

The moonlight reflected against the calm lake in front of us, as if a thousand stars had fallen into the waters. The lights from the resorts were dimmed and gave away a very romantic setting. My mother and I sat on the edge of the pier and dangled our legs into the waters, which were warm and comfortable.

"I know that it has been a long time since we've seen each other but I wanted to visit you for your birthday." I said with enthusiasm.

"Oh my, it has been too long." She smiled, "It has been what? Two years? And you're already in college now?"

"Yeah...it's not easy being away from home."

"I'm sure you do fine. You are a strong boy after all." She said while staring at me. I could feel her eyes penetrating through me as if they were small lights that saw right through me. A few seconds of silence passed before she spoke again. "You are just like your father though," she said with a sigh, "You don't want to talk about it but deep inside you are still hurting."

I felt uncomfortable. I knew what she was talking about but I didn't want to remember those memories. How could I explain to her that it was hard for me to accept the fact that my father had died? That it was hard for me to let go of him? Although my dad wasn't there with us anymore, he was still alive in my heart and that would be enough for me.

"Why did you have to die Dad?" Tears started forming in my eyes as I thought about him, "Why couldn't you keep your promise? We could have been happy together..." I couldn't hold it anymore and began crying uncontrollably. My mother hugged me tightly and stroked my hair gently while I cried on her shoulder. Her touch was familiar - she used to do this when I was little - but now it felt different somehow. It no longer brought comfort to me; rather, it made me feel worse because it reminded me of how much pain she was experiencing too.

After a few minutes, my tears dried up as quickly as they came out and although we were sitting on the pier in front of the lake, emptiness filled every corner of my heart. Just then, an idea popped into my head: "Mom... can we go swimming?"