Her parents were the only people to know her address in Seoul, so they took the initiative of forwarding any mail she got back in the States.
She thought she could forget.
She thought herself better than that.
She thought of herself as a god, patient and forgiving until the last.
Still, when the letter arrived each month, the enclosed check with more than enough to live on, she found herself giddy.
His words were the same, each time, without fail.
Dear Vivian,
I hope this letter finds you well. I understand that this check will not compensate for it, but I hope it eases your pain in some way.
I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
Best,
Benjamin Park
She read the letter each time, without fail.
Then, she would roll back in her chair, skidding across the wooden floors of her quiet bedroom, possessed and haunted, to the night stand beside her bed. Before she put it in along with the all the other letters, she would take care to remove the check, meticulously, as if it were ridden with disease, and place it securely in her purse. After that, she would slam the drawer shut.
Thud.
She would think to herself. Yes, continue to be sorry. I want you to be sorry. I want you to grovel.
Each time, without fail.
YOU ARE READING
Bildungsroman
FanfictionBildungsroman (noun) - a coming of age story. Vivian Lee has been running in the same place for nearly two years now. Slowly, due to a whirlwind of coincidental (or maybe fateful) instances, she learns to accept the world around her isn't as ide...
