Hazel opens the letter (2)
Hazel closed her door as she rarely did. She slid open the envelope to find a beautifully handwritten letter.
It read:
Dearest Ned,
Not a day has gone by in this life without you in my thoughts. If it weren’t for you I never would have had the amazing life I have had. Let me tell you a story.
When we parted that day at the train station I was stricken with sadness. I didn’t know what would become of me. As the train moved further away from you, the mixture of emotions hit hard. I was grateful to have known you, met you and loved you. Our trip and time together here wasn’t all terrible. It showed me what else there was in the world to explore; a belief I hadn’t known since leaving Korea.
Sometimes life throws a curve ball at us and we need to switch it up. ( See my baseball references there) I have had a happy life. I am healthy and cared for where I am.
Now to share where I am. You would never have guessed what happened!
In my grief of our parting, I wasn’t paying much attention to where the train was going or which train I needed to transfer to when I reached Ogden, Utah. As it happened I got on the wrong train and ended up in Butte, Montana. What a beautiful part of the country this is!
The train just stopped there and everyone got off. It was the end of line. I thought I had arrived at my destination and looked around to find my way to the port to head back home when I realized I was still far from Seattle. I thought, “Maybe there is a plan in this mistake, what do I do now?”
Instead of going to the local authorities, I wished to see a bit more in what time I had left so I walked into a nearby restaurant and asked for a job. They didn’t ask many questions and pretty soon I was cooking for a bunch of cowboys. Everyone here was real friendly and only once did I have to show paperwork. The restaurant had a cot in the back I could sleep on until I found something else. It felt like a second chance for me- maybe I would find a home in the U.S. after all.
As people enjoyed my food I was asked to come out and be complimented. A nice man named Dirk offered me a job at his family’s ranch a little bit out of town. I was invited to see where I would be working and there was a carriage house that was out back of the main house I could live in. I accepted the job and knew that the next step in my journey would follow somehow. All the while I was watching the date of my expiration on the fiance visa come closer and closer.
One night, three days before my visa would lapse, I sat in the dining hall head in hands. I wasn’t sure how the authorities would come and get me, or if they would even know how to find me. Dirk came in and saw my distress.
“What’s the matter, Mi? What’s troubling your sweet little head like that?”
I told him about how I had come to America and how I had planned on marrying you and staying, but it hadn’t worked out. I had gotten on the wrong train and ended up here, to a place I now loved and wanted to belong. Through my tears I felt Dirk reach for my hand and then pull me into his arms.
“Mi, I have an idea. See there is something about me not many know. This family of mine is real traditional and we are expected to marry and have more hands to work the ranch. I am not wired the way my brothers are; I fancy men.”
I was shocked with the news and his trust to share that with me. I looked up into his big brown eyes and felt mutual understanding and hope.
“What if we get married, you and me? You will get your citizenship and be able to roam around here as you please and I will have the cover I need to protect my secret. I know it’s not a marriage out of love but I do care for you and maybe we can have a child someday, too. Please think about it. I am sharing my secret with you; please keep it close to your heart.”
I was overwhelmed with his offer and accepted the next day. We married that Saturday and as lovely as it would have been to find a romantic love, this love of convenience helped us both: I had time to heal from losing you and wasn’t pressured to run away and hide in my attempts to stay in America, and Dirk had a wife he could hold up in front of his family to show his commitment to the family business.
Three years later we had a son. He is my pride and joy, my beautiful Russell. Watching him grow and become a man able to run cattle, build fences, whatever needed to happen. Dirk’s family enveloped me and then Russ into their homes, their lives, their legacy.
Right when I thought life had turned its back on me, a wonderful answer came.
Even though Dirk and I did not enjoy all of the marital benefits one expects, our life and friendship grew throughout our time together. He has since passed and our son runs the ranch with his cousins. I am back living in the little carriage house I started out in and love sitting on my front porch watching the animals and enjoying the nature around me.
My God, this place is beautiful.
Maybe you and I could have settled here? If only we thought we had a choice back then.
I sit writing this today quite honored that you have sought to connect with me again. I still think of our time together and the years we might have had if life cooperated.
I told Mr. McDonald that I would reach out to you instead of him giving you the news, he was quite satisfied that he was able to find me with all of the circumstances. I convinced him to let me reach out to you first.
Please do call me, I would love to hear from you.
In gratitude and with love for this amazing life I have had,
Mi
406-555-0192
Hazel pulled a dried twinflower from the envelope. Tears streamed down her face. A second chance of long lost lovers gone forever, missed by only months.
She would not be sending a scribbled on, rejected letter back to this woman. Mi Sun deserved an answer, and to hear more about Ned and what a wonderful man he was. It was unorthodox and possibly illegal but she would provide the softer resolution that Mi would not get from the business side of Sunny Days.
She composed herself and dialed the number.
“Hello?”
~
