“The Lunch Lady”

I always have been sad, since I was just a little boy.Always been the one forgotten, left behind, neglected and what more can I say? I’ve never felt like I was at peace anywhere, everywhere I go...pain follows.The reason for my pain? my Parents were the biggest reason for my own pain…

Neglecting me, smoking, getting drunk, then when they finally realize that they made a mistake they blame it on me. What am I to them? Just a good for nothing kid? You gave birth to me and you got married! Then you decide to neglect me.What type of life am I living, I should have just ran away and find a new life but I couldn’t I was too afraid to run away.Besides, there’s no hope anyway; they would just find me again and bring me back home to live with the pain again.

Well, now my parents want me to go to school for my education, like I was going to enjoy it
But once I was in there I felt like I was not neglected and everybody cared for me, for my life, for my story. At the very first time I felt I belong. Though at Lunch I went towards the place where they get the food and I didn’t feel so good because my depression came back to haunt me again. As I passed through the line one of the Lunch Ladies noticed me and she asked me “Why are you sad?”. I looked up and started to explain everything to her and she smiled at me “Come with me” She then walked away and i was confused. What does she want to show me, I then walked inside of the stall booth and I saw her preparing something. I didn’t know what she was preparing but I sat down on a chair that was nearby and I waited for her  to do something. I then noticed that she was cooking and she was cooking something with passion.

The smell of the food was something else, something different from the drunk breaths of my parents and the smell of smoke that clouded my room. I watched her cook and she was doing it greatly and each chop of vegetables was done quickly. Seems she was an amazing cook and I wondered how was she this skilled. It took about thirty minutes before she finished her cooking and once she was done she presented it to me. She smiled and she said “Tada!, This is Fried Chicken sides with rice, mashed potatoes and some carrots.”

The meal looked appetizing and I stared at her in awe “Is that for me?” I asked shyly because when my parents cooked they will always say it’s not for me but for their friends and themselves. I had to eat of the scraps of meat they always throw away. The Lunch Lady nodded and said “Yes of course, it’s yours to eat!” She sounded happy and she seemed like a good person. So I slowly started to eat the food and with my amazement it tasted like nothing i have ever eaten before.

I continued to eat on the food she prepared, eating like I was a greedy king and I heard the Lunch lady giggled at me. I felt myself embarrassed and she looks at me with a smile “Don’t worry you can eat it in anyway you like”. I then nodded and I felt my eyes prick with tears as I continued eating. It was the best moment of my life and I wish it would always be like this. Having someone who truly cared for me and treat me like a good person. I wish for more feelings like this.

Over the years, We have grown to like each other and every time I was sad. She always know what to give me to cheer me up. I loved the fact that she knows every single bit of me but in those years. She started to grow older and weaker, Soon I had to depart from the school to enter college. It was going to be the last time where I will see her, I walked up to her and said my words of departure. She also said goodbye as she hugged me tightly and called me by my name, giving me her best of wishes. I felt like a part of me was being torn away from me and once again I felt like i wanted to cry but i didn’t. I then parted away from the hug as I walked away and looked back at her with a wave of my hand. My last thoughts of her was that I will miss her.

College life was hard but I managed through that life and I went back to the school with the Lunch Lady that I used to hang out with. I searched for her in the school cafeteria but she wasn’t there. So I went to her house to check out if she was at her house, I soon found out that she lying on bed and she was too old to take care of herself and she was struggling to cling to life. She had no caretaker and I went to her. I grasped her hand and said “I’m back…” Those were the words I said before I saw her hand moved onto my shoulder and placed on there “Welcome back, I have something for you…” She said like she was about to run out of time. I nodded and said “Where is it?” I asked sounding like I was about to break down crying. She pointed at her desk and she said softly “Open it…” I followed her request as I opened up the drawer and I saw a notebook that had writing on it. It said ‘Recipes of my cooking for you’ the book was for me she had been making a recipe book for me for a long time. I started to cry and I looked at her with a smile, She smiled back at me and said “I wanted it to be a gift for you, for your birthday but It wasn’t ready. So I give it to you now….” I nodded and I went towards her, hugging her gently and she hugged me back. Crying softly

She was the reason why I kept going and she wanted me to continue her work so I will listen to her request. I will do it for her… Thank you my favorite Lunch Lady