I cried twice today. Sad movies – in this case, Troy and White Oleander – make me cry.

The one thing common about the two films is the way parents manifest their love for their children. In Troy, King Priam sacrificed pride, dignity, and his life by begging his enemy (and his son’s murderer) for his son Hector’s body. I am ashamed to admit that I have not read Homer’s Illiad (being a degree holder in Literature and all) where this movie was based upon, and I’m sure I will shed oceans of tears when I do.

Astrid’s mom, on the other hand, had to deal with the enemy the hard way in White Oleander. The enemy was, as Astrid puts it, “ourselves”. They lived alone together for years, thinking it would be safer that way. Mom would not allow her past to ruin her daughter’s future, which it almost did.

I am not a parent, nor would I ever be one, I think. That’s why the love of parents for their children will forever be a mystery to me. I can never claim to understand why they do the things they do for the love of their children.

I never said “I love you” to either of my parents. Somehow, I think they know that I do. I know other people will say I still need to express the love in words, but they don’t know my parents. Even I can’t claim that I know them that much. I just know that we know how much we love each other. No mere words can describe it. That’s what matters. And that’s what makes me cry.