Love Letter, Not mine

This post is about a love letter , but it's not mine. Exactly one year ago, today, I was standing in the hall of Vinh Hung Resort with all the luggages well packed. As the cab was late for the airport, I sat at the bar on the riverside, just killing a few cups of tea. The waiter who served me looks very familiar. He identified himself as the eldest son of Thành and Xuân, whom I met a couple of years ago.Indeed, Thành used to work for an art gallery but was laid off at the height of the SARS crisis. Xuân, Thành's wife worked from home as a hair dresser: she was detected with an ovarius cancer, the year I came to Hoian but has recovered marvelously well ever since.

Trung is his name, and he remembered well the day, I first stepped into his house. He sadly told me that soon the whole family will be relocated due to Hoian new urban development program. Basically, streets will be widened, and Trung's house might be torn down in exchange for a modest compensation. Knowing that I was about to depart, Trung showed me a letter with both hands. At first, I thought that he was seeking for some financial help, but as I glanced throught the letter, I quickly grasped his intentions.

The writing was all in english and started with "Dear Sweetie"...Trung never learned how to read nor to write in english and what he showed me was just an e-mail print out. In the letter, the girl said that she missed him a lot since her return to Canada as she was living with memories of their trip to Nha Trang and all the places where Trung had been with her. She worried a lot as she got no news from him despite sending so many E-mails. But she hoped that he is doing well, and must be very busy coping with his day to day life. At the end of the letter, she said that "she will pursue and complete her studies in Medicine and looks forward coming back to Vietnam"...

Trung thanked me for the quick translation he had been waiting for months, or years perhaps. I asked him if he needed help to compose a draft in english for a reply. He wisely folded the letter with his head down and preciously put it into his pocket. Trung went on explaining how he met the girl on a sunny day, as she was looking for direction in the old town. Trung never worked as a tour guide but was offered to keep her company as a pathfinder. Througout the trip he managed to use sign language and broken english and as the trip ended, their relationship has turned into love. Trung has been married for more than a year and has his first child with a Vietnamese local. He kept all of her E-mails unanswered for he is not capable to read english. For Trung, "every trip has its end, he is happy to know that she was still fond of him after all these years".