🤧
🤧 – comforting them when crying
Blame it on the time of night, blame it on the alcohol, blame on the still lingering sound of Li Hua's voice as she tells a part of the story for third time, laughter causing the pauses as the other woman goes through the kind of family story Emme will only understand through empathy, but that doesn’t take away the moment. And there's too much blurry thoughts in her mind to notice the end, or the sting of tears in her eyes from laughter. There’s only the pain in her stomach and chest, her arm digging into the side of the bar counter. There’s only Li Hua suddenly hugging her and wiping away one of the tears Emme only notices after the movement. If she thinks of such moments, laughter and comfort, when Li Hua is warm, it’ll be with the image of a flame within a hearth, the different meanings of a flame.
