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I am Linh, twenty years old, a final year student of a design course.<\/p>\n
My friends often say that I look older than my age\u2014perhaps because I grew up with my mother, a strong and hardworking woman who raised me alone.<\/p>\n
My father died early, and my mother never remarried. Instead, she devoted her entire life to working to support me.<\/p>\n
One day, I joined a volunteer project. There I met Brother Nam\u2014the head of the technical team, who was almost two decades older than me.<\/p>\n
He was quiet, gentlemanly, and spoke with a depth of voice that seemed to be healing a wound deep inside.<\/p>\n
At first, I only felt respect. But as time went on, every look he gave me and every voice he made my heart beat faster.<\/p>\n
Brother Nam had a stable job and a lot of experience.<\/p>\n
He had been through a failed marriage, but he had no children.<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t talk about the past; he just said,<\/p>\n
\u201cI once lost something very important. Now, I just want to live a good life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gradually, our relationship deepened\u2014not dramatic, not noisy.<\/p>\n
He loved gently and carefully, as if he was afraid of breaking something fragile.<\/p>\n
I could hear others talking:<\/p>\n
\u201cThat girl is still young, how can she be with a man twice her age?\u201d<\/p>\n
But I ignored them. With Nam, I found peace.<\/p>\n
One day, he said,<\/p>\n
\u201cLinh, I want to meet your mother. I don\u2019t want to hide it or pretend it.\u201d<\/p>\n
I hesitated. Mom was strict, and always worried.<\/p>\n
But if our love was true, I had nothing to fear.<\/p>\n
The day of the visit arrived.<\/p>\n
Nam was wearing a shirt, carrying daisies\u2014Mom\u2019s favorite flower that I had once told her about.<\/p>\n
We entered the old yard holding hands. Mom was watering the plants. When she saw us, she stopped.<\/p>\n
For a moment\u2026 and it was as if time stood still.<\/p>\n
Before I could introduce myself, she suddenly put down the watering can and hugged Brother Nam tightly, tears streaming down her face.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy God\u2026 is that you, Nam?!\u201d<\/p>\n
I stopped where I was standing.<\/p>\n
Brother Nam was shaking, his eyes red:<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2026 are you Hoa?\u201d<\/p>\n
I was confused. Did they know each other?<\/p>\n
Mom sobbed:<\/p>\n
\u201cTwenty years\u2026 you\u2019re still alive\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s when the past began to unfold.<\/p>\n
When Mom was young, before she met Dad, she had her first love \u2014 Nam himself.<\/p>\n
They loved each other very much, but an accident separated them.<\/p>\n
It was rumored at the time that Nam had died.<\/p>\n
She mourned for several years, until my Dad arrived, who warmed her cold heart again.<\/p>\n
They got married, and I became the fruit of their love.<\/p>\n
But just a few years later, Dad also passed away due to illness.<\/p>\n
It turns out that Brother Nam survived the accident, but lost his memory and was taken by fate to another place.<\/p>\n
There were people who helped him, but all he remembers is \u201ca woman who loved daisies.\u201d<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why when we first met at the project, he said I seemed familiar.<\/p>\n
He couldn\u2019t explain it, but he said he felt a connection.<\/p>\n
And here\u2019s the thing\u2014my name \u201cLinh\u201d was Mom\u2019s middle name when she was young.<\/p>\n
It seemed like fate was playing a joke. It brought back a memory, but in a painful way.<\/p>\n
My tears flowed down my cheeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou mean\u2026 he was the ones before\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom nodded, tears flowing down her cheeks:<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, daughter. But don\u2019t worry, you\u2019re not related by blood.<\/p>\n
I just didn\u2019t expect that the man I loved then would be the same man my daughter loves now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Everyone was silent.<\/p>\n
I felt a weight on my chest, as if I didn\u2019t know where to go.<\/p>\n
Kuya Nam finally spoke:<\/p>\n
\u201cLinh, forgive me. I didn\u2019t know that this was the truth. I never meant to hurt you.\u201d<\/p>\n
That evening, I sat on the balcony.<\/p>\n
Mom came over and patted my shoulder.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaughter, love is not a sin. But sometimes, fate sets things not to last, but to teach us to forgive and say goodbye.\u201d<\/p>\n
I cried\u2014not out of anger, but out of pity and understanding.<\/p>\n
I knew what I felt was true, but I couldn\u2019t continue to do so.<\/p>\n
A few months later, Nam left the city.<\/p>\n
He left a letter:<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, Linh, for reminding me of what it feels like to love again.<\/p>\n
When we met, I regained part of the past I had lost.<\/p>\n
And when I met your mother, I found my own peace.<\/p>\n
Even though we weren\u2019t meant for each other, I will carry your kindness in my heart for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mom kept the letter in a small box, next to Dad\u2019s picture.<\/p>\n
She said:<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes, life\u2019s relationships are not given to bind us, but to teach us the value of letting go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Years passed. I became a designer.<\/p>\n
And every time I see daisies, I always think of Nam \u2014 the man I loved, but more than that, the man who taught me that true love doesn\u2019t have to end together to remain beautiful.<\/p>\n
\u201cTrue love doesn\u2019t always have a happy ending.<\/p>\n
But if it\u2019s filled with respect and kindness, it stays beautiful\u2014forever.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I am Linh, twenty years old, a final year student of a design course. My friends often say that I look older than my age\u2014perhaps because I grew up with my mother, a strong and hardworking woman who raised me alone. My father died early, and my mother never remarried. Instead, she devoted her entire<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":25428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,42,37,43],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-25423","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-moral","8":"category-moral-stories","9":"category-new","10":"category-relationship"},"yoast_head":"\n