Maybe I love chili pepper and wasabi isn’t solely because of their pungency.

This weekend, I went to a nearby eatery for dinner. Sooner after I sat down, a stranger asked if he could share my table because all other tables were full. I nodded my head.

When my noodle was served, I added a lot of chili pepper paste into it as usual and focused on having one of my favorite dishes.

Still, my mind kept thinking of what happened on Friday when I lost my first puppy grandkid due to my silly choice. I found myself start getting emotional again.

I saw my hand take a fresh chili pepper and take a bite of it. Soon after that, my eyes were about to get teary. I was unsure if it resulted from my pepper bite or from the disaster that has still haunted me.

At that moment, I realized perhaps I love having chili pepper and wasabi is not only because they give my food pungency but also because they are a great way to help me hide my tears in public.

From now on, if someone sees tears rolling down on my face, I will blame it on the chili pepper or the wasabi I’m adding on my dishes.

I was weeping eating in front of the stranger but perhaps he assumed because I adding chili paste and fresh pepper at the same time into my food.

“Don’t be ashamed to weep; ’tis right to grieve. Tears are only water, and flowers, trees, and fruit cannot grow without water. But there must be sunlight also. A wounded heart will heal in time, and when it does, the memory and love of our lost ones is sealed inside to comfort us.”

― Brian Jacques, Taggerung