類別：極短篇
篇名：A Letter
作者：英語系研究所。陳思樺
A Letter
My dear boy,
How have you been recently? We all miss you a lot. It’s quite a shock for your
mom and I to hear that you had been dumped by another girl again. I know you must
feel sad, and so do us. After a long time contemplating, your mother and I decided to
tell you something. Something that is true but you might not accept it.
Twenty years ago, your mom and I were informed by the doctor that we would
never have our own children. Our world broke down right then because we would die
for a child of our own, and we had tried everything we could at that time. The sorrow
gripped us for so long, and then we decided to accept God’s arrangement to us. We
decided to live our own lives and first thing we planned to do was have a trip. We
went to Taiwan and we not only had a great time there, but also found our own
treasure, which has brought a drastic but meaningful change to us.
July 25th 1989, a hurricane hit the island, and we were forced to stay in the hotel.
We were so worried about the great storm and the heavy rain that when we turned on
the TV, we saw the news that a father was trying to bring all his family to hell with
him because of the abject poverty they lived in. That man tried to kill his wife along
with his only son, and then committed suicide. Although the police came in time, the
five-year-old boy became the only survivor and witness at the same time. As we saw
that, we felt miserable both for the family and for us. We kept asking why it was so
unfair. For some parents like us could not have our own children; but for others, they
could easily make it but did not know how to cherish.
In the following days, the whole society was so concerned about the little boy.
They were wondering where he would end up without any family left. Suddenly, there
was an idea came into our minds. We believed that it was all God’s mercy to let us
know his story, and we wanted to take care of the miserable boy and gave him all our
love. Finally, through a long time process, we adopted the kid and took him back to
the U.S.
My son… you are that boy! I know it’s hard to believe, but I think you might
already have been aware of that before I wrote this letter. As you told us you wanted
to pursuit your career in Taiwan, we were worried that you would discover something
that would hurt your feelings. When we took you back, you forgot everything that had
happened to you, and you looked just like an average five-year-old boy. You looked
happy and it seemed that there was a bright future waiting ahead of you. Therefore,
we got an illusion that you had recovered from the incident. However, from your
failed relationships, we knew the scar had left its mark. As you always told us that
while your relationships got closer, you were always afraid and not long after, you
would be dumped by those girls.
You are afraid to love, my Kid. From your subconscious, you are afraid if you
love those girls, and then you may do to others what your father had done to your
mother and you. And those girls broke up with you because they could not feel love
from you. I now tell you all of this, not because I want to hurt you, but because I want
you to know the sticking point so that you can conquer it.
Let me tell you that don’t be afraid to love. To love is the happiest thing in a
man’s life. Your mother and I have never regretted loving you in our whole lives. So
be brave and we all know that you can overcome it. A man won’t be happy without
love, and if you love others, it doesn’t mean that you will hurt them in the way your
father did to you. Looking forward to seeing your success, and bring us a beautiful
girl.
Love you,
Your Dad.