Power of Attorney: A Novel (A Greenburg Family Book 1) by Alice Lang Page A

enjoying being away from the tension of the office.
    “Oh, it’s you again,” a familiar cracking voice could be heard from afar. Patrick turned his head to see Kanade walking slowly towards the living room. The tea cup in his hand was suddenly forgotten as he dashed towards her and helped her to the usual wooden chair where she always sat. She thanked him before asking him to pass her the remote on the coffee table nearby.
    A soft tune of the guitar filled the room, then came the distinguish voice of Johnny Cash. “You are my sunshine” echoed in the Terres house along with Kanade’s humming. She closed her eyes and let her mind meld together with the old tune. Patrick knew this song, he heard it before on some radio. Thinking about it, Daisuke’s first book was called, Once upon a Sunshine . Was it somehow a tribute to this song?
    “Was it your favorite song?” he asked her.
    “Aiden wouldn’t stop singing it to me. He even learned how to play it on guitar,” she pointed her finger to one of the pictures hanging on the frame. There stood Aiden, on the stage on some kind of a bar playing a guitar. He was probably singing the same song he heard now but it would be for Kanade and only her alone.
    “Daisuke also knew the lyrics by heart. When they were together, they would always do a duet for me.”
    “So they are your sunshine ?” Kanade opened her eyes and looked back at him. She had a smile on her dried lips. The wrinkles on her face crinkled with her. Even though she was old, she looked beautiful with that wrinkled smile. It was a happy smile created by the memories of her long lost husband and son.
    “Do you know why people would often compare people they love, especially lovers, to the sun?” Instead of an answer, she gave him another question. He shook his head. Literature wasn’t his virtue even if he read some.
    “The sun is always used as a sign of a new beginning. You would always see the sun rising. It would disappear by the end of the day, but you are so sure that it will rise again on the next morning. The sun gives life to us but more than that, it is a symbol of hope. As long as that glowing light is there, you know that there’s tomorrow. You know that it isn’t the end yet. That hope is one of the strongest feeling that we humans can feel. And that it what people you love give you, faith and hope.” Kanade put her hands on his hand. Her maternal warmth spread through his body like a wildfire. It was a feeling he thought he’d forgotten.
    “People you love give you hope. You know they will come back even if they were gone for a while. They breathe life into you and make you feel alive. Aiden gave me hope when I was trapped in that camp. That’s why he’s my sunshine.”
    The song ended, and Kanade let go of his hand, “Some people hide in the dark so that they can avoid the sunshine. The wall people build in their heart. If they did not step out or break down that wall, they would never see the sunshine in their life. I broke down that wall, and I found Aiden standing there, waiting for me.”
    “I’m sure you did the same for him,” Patrick suggested. Aiden must also have fought the cold stares and rude words around him too when he chose to spend the rest of his life with Kanade. Racism and prejudice against people like her were strong back then. Perhaps there were times when he doubted his love and almost gave up as well.
    “I’m sure he did. What about you dear?” Patrick was taken aback by the question. W hat was she asking him?
    “M-me?”
    “Have you found your sunshine? Or are you still hiding behind a wall?” He started to doubt that Kanade was human. Was she some kind of telepath that could read his mind? Or perhaps he started to pick up Sarah’s inability to hide expressions. He thought about Kanade’s question. The wall was there for sure. He put it up for a reason. He was still reluctant to put it down.
    But his sunshine… he knew who was his