My first summer break in Hong Kong was not an easy one, it seemed way too short for me. After one year staying far away from my family, I wanted to do so many things during my summer break: to see different changes of my hometown, to taste the food that I missed the most, to get prepared for a new school year in Paris, to buy different things that I couldn't find in Paris, to find gifts for my friends in Paris...... The terrible news was that my aunt, Ann, who was not married and who had been living with me since I was born, was diagnosed with breast cancer, middle-final stage. We were very close and she was especially supportive to me. Because of that, every minute of my holiday seemed particularly precious to me. As I didn't know when I would see Ann again, or would I still have the chance?
I went to watch a local ballet competition with my parents two days before my departure for Paris. Watching the competition next to my parents among the audience, I was at first very attentive, then nostalgic. The idea of leaving Hong Kong in two days came to my mind all of a sudden. I started crying, in the darkness, my head lowered towards my chest. Since that moment, I became so unhappy.......
..... until my last dinner of that summer holiday at a "Tai Hing" restaurant at the downstairs of our place. My mind was empty, I almost gone crazy, too scared to leave my family, and Ann again. My whole family was there: my parents, Ann, my sister and my grandmother. I ordered a bowl of Ramen with ham and egg, the dish that I would miss the most. Looking at this bowl of Ramen in front of me, my tears went down, right into the bowl. I cried, it was however much enjoyable for me, it was a release. "Little brother, don't be unhappy.......", my grandma said with such emotion while touching my shoulder softly. I was very touched by this voice, grandma seldom speaks so softly to me. This only made me cry out even more.
At the airport, before I turned my back to my family, my last glance was towards Ann....... certainly both of us were wondering if that was our last goodbye.
In a way, it was. Two months later, I came back to Hong Kong urgently, and found Ann waiting for me in a hospital bed.........
What stayed in my mind is this image of a bowl of fragrant Ramen, blurred by my tears. It was especially tough to get over, my favorite bowl of Ramen was especially bitter.