Ashley was watching from afar.
The sky was beautiful, the sun was disappearing behind the cotton white cloud from time to time with the rushing wind.
The sky was a crystal shade of blue heaven.

Ashley was looking up at the sky in a try as if solving the mystery of the gushing wind ruffling her loose hairs and messing it around. She inhaled the fresh air full of pines and mowed grass.
She tried hard not to concentrate on the group of people a little far from her.

"Never seen you around, missy," a gentle voice came from her side.

Ashley ripped her eyes off from the crystal sky to look down at the elderly woman beside her.
Ashley didn't answer, just nodded unsurely.

"It's a sorrow, very sad to hear it all of a sudden!" The woman told with a somber tone.

Ashley again hummed unsurely.
Why was she here? She thought it again. To be honest, she didn't know either.

"Why don't you go there?"

"I am good here, thank you." Ashley smiled a bit.
She looked around to see all the people in black under the glorious sky.

"Who are you to the deceased?"

Ashley looked up again in the sky,
"Nothing," she sighed a little, "I am nobody."

Mrs. Kim picked the phone after it rang for a while.

"I am making kimchi, what type do you like, dear?"

"Anything, eomoni." Ashley smiled a little.

"When are you coming back? Tae is already set for the states. They'll return after few days."

"I know. How are you?" Ashley asked lightly.

"Eun Jin and Jeon Gyu is driving me crazy. It is still some days before their school starts again. What about you?"

"Can't wait to come back." Ashley smiled.

"Did something happened, kid?" Suddenly Mrs. Kim's voice changed into a softer one, "You sound different today."

Ashley didn't answer that.
"Eomoni?"

"Yes?"

"Can you just...just talk to me? " Ashley's voice became weak.

"What happened, dear?"

"She passed away today," Ashley replied quietly.

Mrs. Kim remained silent for a moment.

"Who?"

"My mother," Ashley sighed a little.

Mrs. Kim again fell silent.

"Eomoni?"

"Are you Ok?"

"Yes..., No...I don't know!" Ashley sat on a park bench.

"Tell me how you feel. Let it out."

"I don't feel anything eomoni," Ashley bit her lips, "But why does it feel so hollow all of a sudden?"

"Cause you are still a faulty human, my baby."
Her words this time soothed her up.

"Why just she couldn't accept me, eomoni? Was I this pathetic?"

"Cause she was a faulty human too." Her voice was calm.

"All my life I blamed myself, probably I wasn't good enough, probably I wasn't someone anyone should like. It took a long time to come to love myself, but still, why am I still..... "

"My baby!" Her voice cracked up this time.
"You are wonderful. If you were a mistake, I want this world to have many more mistakes like you!"

"Eomoni? Why did you take me in? I am total wreckage!" Ashley chuckled a bit.
"See, I am talking like crazy over a phone on a park bench. Gosh! such a mess!"

"You are my mess if be any less." Her voice was of a mother she never had.
"Now get up and put yourself together. Come back to me. I want to see you before my kimchis are ripened. Are you crying?"

"No! Why? God! Do I sound like a cry baby now? You mother and son; both made me a human puddle these days! I cried much these days compared to my whole damn life!"

"Language!" Mrs. Kim scolded her a little.

Ashley chuckled painfully as she saw the people in black leaving the area one by one slowly.

Ashley opened the door to see a very well-dressed man standing in front of her door.

"Yes?"

"Dr. Ruth?"

"Who is asking?"

The man handed her a card and waited patiently.
Ashley's brows formed a crease as she read the card, "What do I have to do with a lawyer? If it's about Jimmy, we've already settled the matter!"

"I am afraid you have mistaken me with someone else!" the Lawyer smiled a bit.

"Pardon?"

"I am here as a request from my clients. They'd like to sit with you for settlings some legal matters if you allow it, please."

"I am sorry, I am confused. Who is your client again?"

"I am from the Smiths'."

"Oh!" sudden realization hit her bringing back memories of an elegant woman.

"If you have time, they want to meet up with you now."

Ashley was still taken aback by the sudden action.
"You could have just contacted me, a phone call would have been enough. I mean it's so sudden..."

"I apologize for this sudden commotion. But both of them are very busy, and you wouldn't be here tomorrow. We did our research you can see."

" I am not getting away with this, am I?" Ashley sighed.

"I am afraid you are not." the lawyer smiled kindly.

"Ok, you may come inside. And your clients too. Guess they are in the car?"

"Thank you," the lawyer bowed slightly and went to the driveway to an expensive-looking car. Ashley came inside and waited patiently until two young men came inside.

They both were in expensive black. Both of them were younger than her. One was probably a year or two younger than her, and another one didn't even pass his teenage. Probably sixteen or early seventeen. Ashley couldn't believe these twos were her half brothers.

They both greeted her nicely and nervously looked around.

"Please, have a seat," Ashley motioned them towards the couch.

After getting seated, Ashley carefully asked, "What would you like? I can make some coffee if you like. We can talk through the process," Ashley said mildly in a try to break the ice.

The older one politely denied it while the younger one smiled a little, "that would be nice, thank you!"

Ashley got up and came to her kitchen with a storm inside her head. Surely, they had come here about the property distribution. Didn't she clear the matter already? Or didn't their mother tell them already about the matter? What should she do? It's a lot awkward than she thought.

She came back five minutes later with coffee.

"Let me introduce myself first, I am Marcus, and he is Samuel," the elder one spoke softly.

"Mark and Sam," the younger one added.

"And you already know who I am," Ashley smiled back.

"We know who you are," smiled Sam.

"If you don't mind, we can discuss the reasons for your visit, you see, I have a plane to catch and I haven't packed yet," Ashley smiled apologetically.

"I understand. Larry?"
The last word was towards the lawyer sitting in a corner.
The lawyer instantly stood up with some papers in his hands and swiftly came in between them and placed the papers in front of Ashley.

"Before we move on, it will be better if you take a look at these papers."

"I think I'll pass on," Ashley sighed,
"look, Mark, Sam. I don't know if your mother had told you or not, but we have already discussed the matter. There's nothing else I have to say."

"Mom told us," Mark nodded, "we wish she had told us earlier, but still, we...."

"I've already said I don't need and won't claim your properties or share. You have nothing to worry about."

Mark and Sam exchanged looks.
Larry cleared his voice slightly,
"I think there has been a misunderstanding, Dr. Ruth. That's why I suggest having a look at the papers."

Ashley sighed and took the papers in her hands.
When she put down the papers, a frown was already made on her forehead.
"I can't do this."

"See, it's not much, sis. We'll be very much happy if you...." Mark stopped seeing the startled expression on Ashley's face.
Sis? Ashley fiddled with the word in her mind. Why did it leave a soft imprint in her heart all of this sudden?

"Are you listening?"

Ashley woke up from her daze and replied, "Yeah. Totally."

"I wish you'll respect our mother's last wish. It's written in her will."

"Why would I if she couldn't respect my wish?" Ashley blurted, "I am sorry to say it like this, but..."

"We both want you to receive this. It's not much. But mom wanted you to have it."

"Yeah, not much for you. For me, it's a lifetime fortune!" Ashley stood up, "I am sorry, but I can't receive this. I cleared it with her the last time," Ashley was irritated.

"Sis...just tell me what you want, we..."

"I just wanted to be accepted damn it!" Ashley almost shouted in annoyance.

Sam's eyes turned wider, "sis..."

"I wanted to be accepted by my mother, not abandoned. I wanted her to be there when I had no one to run to, I wanted to be there for her when she suffered! I wanted to have the right to be there when you buried her down. I just wanted to be accepted."

Mark looked at her with guilty eyes.

"I can't take something from someone I barely know only because she felt to shower me with wealth whenever she wanted!" Ashley mumbled realizing her pointless surge of emotions.

"You...."

"It's been always her. It's been always her decision. To leave me, to decide to take me back, to come and see me again, to burden me with her wealth. What am I to her? A pawn to coy with? Where is my saying in all these? It's my life for god's sake!"

Mark stood up in a blink and closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Ashley in no time. Ashley was shocked. Moreover, she was terrified by this sudden action. But when Sam joined them she relaxed slowly.

"I am sorry we brought this upon you," Mark rumbled lowly. "I am sorry for all the time we have lost."

"We wish we knew everything from the very beginning. We are sorry for how mom treated you."

"You don't have to do anything you don't want to. We won't force you to take it. But we want you to take us in," Sam smiled with pleadings.
"Just please don't push us away. Our mother didn't do her parts," Sam held Ashley's hand, "let us do ours."