"But all that's over now," continued Bran. He put his hands onto his mother's shoulders and gave them a light squeeze. "I'm alright now."
In his idle hours (there had been many) he'd sometimes wondered what he'd say to his mother if she ever woke. Sometimes he thought he'd ask her why she never taught him Cantonese and rail against the injustice of it; sometimes he thought he'd tell her all the ways he'd been able to succeed - show off to her and hope she praised him.
But now that this unexpected opportunity had come along, all Bran wanted to do was to give his mum a hug.
And so he did.
He'd lived overseas. He'd found satisfaction in learning. He knew he didn't need her approval to know he was okay and that she would absolutely be proud of him.
He couldn't explain how, but he already knew the answers to the questions he'd once been burning to ask.
