Chapter 121 - Happy Moments

The happiest moments in people's lives are always the shortest. No matter your status or the amount of wealth you possess, happy moments are always fleeting and very hard to come by. The down periods or even just normal repititive cycles would be present for the most parts of your life. That is why people cherish every happy memory that they make. They treasure and savour it to the bone. In times of trouble or distress, they reminisce such happy moments.

Sato could still remember one of his happiest moments in his life till this day. Age 7, winter. The skies were gloomy, obviously, signs of rain. Yet, it wouldn't be able to become snow, for the winters in Country Z were not cold enough.

Sato had just started his school holiday. He peers out the window from his warm cosy 2 room house. He laid down, chest facing the ground, waddling his legs around. His arms held the weight of his small head.

Sato's mother, Geraldine, watched her son adoringly by the dining table. She was chopping up vegetables for today's dinner. The only sound in the house was the rhythmic sounds of chopping. Everything was peaceful and calm.

"I'm home!" Sato's father, Mahiro, cheered loudly as he stepped through the front door. His face had a large beaming smile that came in consequence of his wife and son.

"Father!" Sato exclaimed. He ran up to his father in open arms. Of course, Mahiro reciprocated. He lifted his son off the ground and into the air.

Mahiro went to where Geraldine sat, delivering a kiss to his wife's cheek. Geraldine smile and said to her husband, "Go take a bath, will you? Take Sato with you too, he hasn't taken one yet."

"Oh ho, you heard your mother. Let's go take a nice warm bath, little stinky."

Mahiro carried little Sato who was chuckling in his arms. The two males in the family went ahead to have a water fight in the bathroom. Sounds of laughter and screaming could be heard from outside. Geraldine couldn't help but beam from the boy's interaction.

When the two came of the shower all nice and clean, they headed to the open concept kitchen to find Geraldine. Geraldine was busy stir-frying the broccoli when the father and son watched eagerly from behind.

"Sato, doesn't mother's dish smell so good?" Mahiro lifted Sato up to get a better look at the food.

"Mmm! It smells really good!" Sato agreed, nodding along enthusiastically.

Geraldine rubbed Sato's slightly wet hair as a sign of thanks. She carried on to cook while the pair of boys watched from behind. Skillfully, she whipped up 3 simple dishes comprising of two vegetables and a meat dish. During the time that they ate, Sato would throw in compliments about the food. The whole atmosphere was blissful.

Just as they were about to clean up the dishes, Mahiro clapped his hand and got his family's attention. "I have good news that I want to share."

"What is it?" Geraldine said, while Sato didn't care about it.

"Today, my company head released good news that we would be getting a bonus this year! So," Mahiro paused for a moment before saying it out, "Why not we go on an overseas trip?"

"Overseas?!" Sato's eyes widened when he heard what his father had said. He had heard in school from his classmates that they were going to travel overseas for holiday. Many of them were travelling to tropical countries to escape the winter. For Sato's case, he never had the chance to travel on a plane before.

That concept was never really explained by his parents, but being the smart child that he was, he understood that his family wasn't as financially abled as compared to others.

"I was thinking.." Mahiro rubbed the little boy's head as he continued speaking, "Why not we travel to Country J for a short holiday? Since Sato hasn't seen real snow before, this will be his chance."

Sato's eyes sparkled when he heard his father speaking about snow. Geraldine being the supportive wife that she was, agreed without hesitation. "Sure, honey. Let us go to Country J."

"Hooray!"

The family of three booked their tickets that very night. Although it was the cheapest plane ticket on the market, and they weren't travelling far, it was still the first flight that Sato was taking. He was so excited that the night before, he could not sleep.

On the plane, Sato would constantly look out the window to see the sea of clouds that laid below him. He was higher than the clouds for the first time. It felt so surreal to the little boy. Since it was his first time on a plane, he didn't know about the air pressure that would clog his ear. When it started hurting, Geraldine immediately told him to yawn a few times, to which it helped to unblock his ears.

Regardless, Sato enjoyed the flight and that was just the start of his trip. At the Country J International airport, Sato dragged his mini luggage by himself and followed his parents to find their designated coach bus. They had booked a tour package to help lower their costs.

When they arrived at the pick-up point, the other tourists have already arrived and so, they left immediately after. The coach drove off onto a highway that led up a mountain road. Country J was famous for their mountainous ranges. As they head up one their most famous mountains, the weather got more and more cloudy. Eventually, white specks of snow started drifting down the sky. Sato's eyes were glued to the window from the get go. When he realised that it was actually snowing, he was ready to get down from the bus to feel the snow. The higher they got, the road sides had also become whiter and whiter. Snow was everywhere.