It was on a Friday afternoon—3:08 PM to be exact on the eighth day of
January 2021—when an email arrived and asked in the subject line: Are you still out there?
The sender, Jennifer, was hoping to reach the Vietnamese writer on the
other side of the question, the writer who had disappeared years ago
without saying goodbye and letting her readers know what happened to her
story. Jennifer pressed on in her email:
Thinking about how much I miss your stories from Morning Sun. Please bring it back. Love, Jennifer It was a short note, and it had been on the writer's mind since that
day. Thinking how Jennifer's plea held everything she needed the way
sunlight nourished a battered shore after a storm. How it arrived when
she was wondering if she could return to the Morning Sun story that had
failed to garner representation from her long list of literary agents.
There was initial interest, but somewhere on the journey the interest
faded and the standard rejections came. Not wanting to crush a dream, a
few agents offered feedback and best wishes at the end to help ease the
disappointment around trying to write a story worthy of publication. Feeling uncertain, the writer reread Jennifer's plea. Remembering meeting her by chance on Twitter, two women in a sea of millions connecting through their shared interests in art, poetry, and writing. Reconnecting as they both turned toward the sunlight finding its way through the clouds. Seeing the light, the writer began her letter ... Dear Jennifer, Returning to the oldest village in Vietnam, walking along the path in Mong Phu under a different sky. At the entrance and through the storm ... darkness was turning to light. Can you see it? Seeing my father, let me begin again. Comments are closed.
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