For twelve years, Theresa received exactly the same message from her daughter. Every year, $80,000 arrived in her bank account. But Mary Lou never came home. This Christmas, Theresa finally stopped waiting. She bought a plane ticket to South Korea without telling her daughter. When she opened the door to Mary Lou’s house, she froze.
Twelve years.
That was how long it had been since Theresa had last seen her daughter, Mary Lou, walk away from her at an airport and board a plane bound for South Korea.
Twelve Christmases.
Twelve birthdays.
Twelve years of unanswered questions.
And yet, every year without fail, $80,000 appeared in Theresa’s bank account.
The money was always accompanied by almost the exact same message.
“Mom, take care of yourself. I’m doing well.”
For anyone else, those words might have sounded comforting.
To Theresa, after twelve years, they had begun to feel strangely empty.
“My name is Theresa. I’m 63 years old, and for most of my life, my daughter was the center of everything I did.”
Theresa had raised Mary Lou alone after losing her husband. She had watched her daughter grow from a little girl into a bright, compassionate young woman.
Mary Lou was intelligent.
Kind.
Beautiful.
And, for years, she and her mother had been inseparable.
They shared long conversations. They laughed together. They knew each other’s habits, favorite foods, fears, and dreams.
Theresa believed that no matter where life took Mary Lou, there would always be a place for her at home.
Then Mary Lou turned 21.
That was when she met Kang Jun.
He was a Korean man nearly twenty years older than her, and from the moment Theresa learned about their relationship, she was worried.
