The rain seemed as if it was about to stop.
Martha moved a stool to the doorway, sat down, and quietly watched the gradually thinning rain curtain. She vaguely remembered that when her daughter had gone to Gala City two years ago, she had set out on a rainy day too. Their neighbor had been leaving before dawn to haul goods to the market, so her daughter had packed her luggage and gone out before dawn as well.
She had wanted to see her daughter all the way to Gala City to report to university. For once, she had been willing, even happy, to spend a little more money, but her daughter had refused with great firmness, leaving only one sentence at the door:
Wait for me to come back.
Martha had actually known what her daughter was thinking... If her future classmates found out she had a hunched, unfashionable mother, it would be too shameful, too humiliating for her daughter. She had finally managed to leave this remote place for the big city, and any stain would hurt her delicate, sensitive heart... So Martha had not insisted. She had stayed inside the door and watched her daughter carry her luggage in both hands and climb into the truck.
"Wait for me to come back" meant: don't come looking for her.
But in the end, Martha still could not help herself. Half a year later, she carefully asked her daughter if she could go to Gala City to see her. Though her daughter clearly stated that she could not visit the campus, Martha was already perfectly content, and withdrew all three Silver Coins the family had saved. Her daughter had not taken a single coin from home when she went to Gala City, relying entirely on grants, but Martha had