Dear Kieu,
I’ve thought about you a lot lately. I hasn’t sure if I should write, but my heart is heavy, and it feels like you’re the only one who might understand. There’s a kind of comfort in reaching out to you, even after all these years.
I’m away on this work trip, and it feels like the world back home is falling apart without me. I missed Thanksgiving with my family this year. For the first time, I wasn’t there to carve the turkey, to see the smiles, or hear the familiar laughter that fills our home. I know it’s part of the sacrifice I have to make, but it stings, Kieu. It really does.
Worse than that, my wife is sick. The kind of sick where you wish you could be there, holding her hand, making her tea, or just sitting beside her in silence. And yet, I’m here, far away. It feels wrong. I can’t shake the guilt. She’s been so strong through all of this, and I feel like I’m failing her by not being there when she needs me most. I think of her lying in bed, her energy drained, and all I want is to be by her side. But I can’t. Work pulls me in one direction, while my heart pulls me in another.
It’s strange, but when things are tough like this, I think of you. Maybe because you were there for me when I struggled before. You always had a way of understanding the parts of me that were too complicated for words.
I miss those days. I miss the simplicity of life before all these responsibilities piled up. I’m not sure where you are now or what your life looks like, but sometimes I wish I could go back to the time when it was just us, when things weren’t as heavy.
I want to be home, Kieu, to be with my family, to take care of her, to not miss out on these moments that matter. But right now, I’m stuck between duty and love, and it’s tearing me in two. Maybe writing to you is my way of holding on to something that makes sense, a connection to a part of my past that still feels pure.
I hope you’re well. I just needed to get this off my chest. I’m not sure when I’ll be back, but I hope when I return, I’ll have the strength to make things right again.
Take care, Kieu. You’ve always been someone I could turn to, and for that, I’m grateful.
Yours,
Tuan
Comments