1 Caller #1
All that I am, and hope to be, I owe to my angel mother. -Abraham Lincoln
A decade had passed, but even when she's exhausted the whole day, Aerith would still wake up at the exact time her papa last woke her up.
10:01 PM
Dragging her feet to the ensuite, she got ready for another hour-long stretch of live streaming from the confines of her apartment.
As you see, Aerith was a junior at Harvard, concentrating in Astrophysics with an extracurricular in Arts and Radio.
Inside a room on the second floor which she converted into her own private studio, she sat down in her neon pink throne—it was her mom's gift to her.
Just like the other nights, she robotically turned on one switch after another at her table-wide mixer console.
With her neon pink headphones snug on her ears, Aerith adjusted her volumizer one last time before pushing the "ON-AIR" button.
"Hello, my precious! Good evening! This is Miss A, and you're listening to Aerith's Playlist," she greeted, her voice full of youthful vibrancy, it infected all those who were tuning in at her show, painting a smile in her listeners' faces.
"Welcome to another owl session with me, your favorite host."
She took a peep on the tall windows and trailed off, "Hmm... Have you seen the sky tonight? Nothing much from where I am but I have a feeling that somewhere out there the spring sky is clear with lots of scattered stars, and I hope everyone is having a wonderful time.
"As always, if you have a message for a loved one, or words that you want to get out of your chest, just give us a call on our hotline. I'll be back after a 2-minute commercial and let's hear who our first caller for the night is. Alrighty…"
Playing a song in her playlist, she dragged some songs and rearranged it. Her foot tapped on the floor as she listened to the music she curated that morning.
Suddenly, a slow smile curved her lips, the freckles on her cheek darkened at her excitement.
"Hello, this is Ms. A, and you are lucky Caller #1!" Aerith took a sip of her ice-cold coffee, making loud slurping sounds as she emptied her cup.
"Hi. Uhm my name is Qin Yue," the caller's voice was meek and mild, if Aerith would make a guess, Caller #1 must be a college student which is not a surprise since she's basically broadcasting within Harvard grounds.
"You have a lovely voice, don't you know that?"
"Yeah?"
"Yes you do, but if you won't speak loud enough, your message might not be heard by our listeners."
Aerith's smile widened when she heard Caller #1 blow a puff of air on the other end of the line.
"Do you really wish to use your real name, Qin Yue?" Aerith asked.
"Yes… I want my mom to know it's me."
Hearing the crack of nerve in Qin Yue's voice, Aerith coaxed the former and instructed, "I'm sure she will. Okay, you'll be up in 15 seconds. Let's make sure you send your message loud and clear, okay? Got it, precious?"
"Got it, Ms. A!" Caller #1 exclaimed, shaking off all her nervousness away.
Flicking the On-Air switch on, Aerith trailed off, "And we're back with Caller #1 in the line. Say hi to our listeners."
"Hi… I'm Qin Yue. Hi, Mom! I told her to listen earlier, it's morning in Hong Kong where my mom is at right now," Qin Yue chuckled.
Smiling as she listened to Caller #1, Aerith moved her lips closer to the mic and greeted, "Hello Qin Yue's mom in Hong Kong. Wow. It feels refreshing to receive a call from a fellow foreign student."
"I always listen to your show, Ms. A. That's why when I got the news today, I had this urge to call your station and surprise my mom."
"Wooow! Thank you thank you, Qin Yue! It would be an honor to hear you share the news with your mom. Is everyone ready to hear Qin Yue's story? Hit the thumbs up emoji if you are for our Caller #1 Qin Yue."
Soon, hundreds of flying thumbs up emoji flooded the monitor screen, along with other emojis like hearts and high fives, and a few poop emojis from Aerith's haters too, which she didn't mind seeing.
When the rain shower of emojis stopped, Aerith played a soft background music. "Qin Yue, are you still there? I hope you have seen the emojis your fellow listeners sent you."
"I did," Qin Yue's voice cracked yet again. Aerith could hear the tremble in Qin Yue's voice on the other end of the line.
"Tell us something about yourself, precious."
"Hello, I am Qin Yue, a senior student at Harvard, and this morning I found my name on the list of graduating students."
A sniffle could be heard as Qin Yue continued to speak, "I grew up in a broken family and my mom was the breadwinner of the family, working on hours end just so we have a roof over our heads and food on our table, that's why I called because I wanted everyone to know how thankful I am and that without her, I won't be here, achieving my goals.
"Uuuhh�� I remember when I was young, I would always join school events and get envious of other schoolmates who had their parents watching and cheering them on because there wasn't a time that my mom was around. She's always at work but that's fine.
"Every time I go home with a medal in my neck I would be happy and proud even without my mom watching me. You wanna know why?"
"Why?" Aerith asked, closing her eyes, she's a sucker for tear-jerking stories.
"Because every night when my mom comes home tired from work, she would still find time to tutor me on my studies and check my homework before bedtime.
"And every morning, before she leaves for work, she would cheer me up. 'You can do it, Qin Yue! Never forget what I taught you last night. I'll always be there with you, Qin Yue. Right here and right here.' She would then point on my chest and kiss my forehead. It's sort of our ritual actually.
"So to my mama, words are not enough to say how thankful and lucky I am to have you. I share all my success with you, mama. I may not be vocal with my emotions and this is probably the only time you will hear it from me, but, yeah, I love you too, my moon."
Qin Yue mimicked how her mom would repeatedly say the words to her growing up, speaking in Cantonese. Those were words she didn't bother to reply, afraid that saying it would burn her tongue.
She stifled her cries as she let the soft background music soothe her, smiling silly when the weight in her chest was suddenly lifted off, and she finally felt lighter than ever.
"Wow… I don't know what to say. Your mama must be a crying mess right now. Do you want us to give her a call?" Aerith offered and wiped the dripping snoot in her nose.
"I think that's a bad idea. She doesn't speak English," Qin Yue giggled, brightening the mood.
"Ooof, wait. How would she understand what you said just now?"
"Oooh I recorded my voice. I sent it in your email, Ms. A."
Aerith slid her chair closer to the desk. "Just a sec. Alrighty, it's here. I'm going to play Qin Yue's message."
Soon, Qin Yue's voice speaking in Cantonese echoed, and even with the language barrier, every listener still cried the same.
When the recording ended, Aerith spoke through the mic, "Thank you, Qin Yue for sharing your story with us. It was a beautiful reminder of how selfless our mothers are.
"Makes me wonder when was the last time you have spoken to your mom or is there an unread message from her on your phone? I think there's no perfect time to reach out to our mothers.
"No matter the hour, when we call them, they will always pick up their phones on the first ring. What are we waiting for, right? Come on now, don't be shy. Give your mama a call.
"Here's a song titled Mom by Meghan Trainor."
In a beat, a song with quirky tones and beats played in the air, shifting the mood from gloomy to cheerful.
~Oh, how she loves me to the moon and back
That's what she told me
Her love never ends, she's my best friend
Ain't nobody got a mom like mine~
Softening the song to fade into the background, Aerith held a Post-It note up to her eye level. It was scribbled with shorthand writing.
Earlier, she wrote her ending spiel as she listened to the music she chose for the story of the night.
A smile painted her face and hope filled the sound of her voice as she spoke, "Thank you for tuning in my precious listeners. I'll see you again next time for more owl sessions with me, your favorite midnight host.
"A new story has been heard and another song has been added. This is Ms. A, and you're listening to Aerith's Playlist. Goodnight!"
