Finally Heard by Kelly Yang

Author:Kelly Yang
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published: 2024-02-27T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 39

Mrs. Kim shows us around her shop, in her sunny dress and all-leather apron. I’ve never seen an all-leather apron before. But given how much leather there is in Mrs. Kim’s shop, it fits right in.

“This way, girls! Here is where the magic happens!” Mrs. Kim says, showing off her workstation. Her cat Bo Bo hops off the desk and hides underneath. There are a million tools all along her desk. I walk over and pick up what looks like the world’s tiniest toothbrush.

Now, this is babyish. And it’s adorable.

“What does this do?” I ask.

“I use that to stain and polish the leather!” she says.

She points to a whole row of bags behind her. Next to each restored bag, Mrs. Kim has a picture of the original bag’s condition.

“Wow,” I say, waving Carla over. The difference in the before-and-after pictures is stunning!

I take a picture of Mrs. Kim’s shop and text it to Mom and Dad.

WOW. Nice ! Dad texts back.

I smile. Dad always overdoes it with emojis.

I knew you would like Mrs. Kim! Can’t wait to see the video! Mom writes.

Bo Bo walks over, brushing up against my leg. She purrs when I pet her.

Carla points to a beautiful leather messenger bag. “How did you restore this?”

“Lots of polish and patience,” Mrs. Kim says. “It wasn’t easy finding the exact kind of brass buttons! I had to go to swap meets on the weekends.”

“Someone found a button in a sloppy joe at my school,” I volunteer.

“What?” Carla asks.

“Discord,” I say, shrugging.

“Well, I’ve never found one there!” Mrs. Kim chuckles. “But I am always keeping an eye out. I learned that from my father. He was in the Korean army. My mother, she was a seamstress.”

She points to an old black-and-white photo of her parents.

“They look so in love!” Carla says, smiling.

“Oh, they were! My mother asked him to write to her every day. My father would search for every possible piece of paper. But you know, in war, you can’t just mail letters all the time. You need to wait until there’s opportunity. So my mother, she made my dad a leather satchel, strong enough to last in the rain, in the snow, and strong enough to hold all their letters. Strong enough to hold their love.”

Awwwwww. Carla and I both look at each other and smile.

“Did it work? Were the letters safe?” I ask.

“Yes!” Mrs. Kim’s eyes twinkle. “Every single one.”

“Do you still have the bag??” I ask. Carla squeals as Mrs. Kim rummages around her shop. Finally, she holds up a dusty box.

She opens it. I peer at the leather satchel inside, richly brown and aged with love.

Mrs. Kim was saving more than just bags—she was saving stories.

I knew instantly what we needed to make a video on.

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