My father is 80. He is the 6th of 7 children. He is the only sibling left. He lost 2 sisters years ago to illnesses. He lost an older brother and sister very recently. He has 2 other, older brothers that didn't make it south during the Korean War. He had.
The Korean War was 55 years ago. As the years went by, the family continued to do the math in their heads, wondering if those 2 could still be living, if a reunion were even remotely possible. When the series of reunions were being planned, our family submitted applications, but were turned down. Who knows why, but deep in my heart I think it was because those 2 are gone.My dad, the little brother, now 80. He's the young boy in the middle row. Even though I am approaching 50, there are parts of my feelings for my older brothers that will never change. So, my dad, 80, the patriarch of the clan, must still feel like the little brother.
Is there a tiny bit of hope in his heart that perhaps, maybe, he'd hear word about his big brothers? How could they have survived the famines? The barenness? Even I, who never knew them, cannot bear the thought of giving up.
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1 comment:
Oh, my heart. I just read this tonight. It makes me want to hug your father. I cannot imagine such pain. When I think of my own dad, and uncles (all gone now)...and put them in those circumstances... Life deals such cruel blows, beyond comprehension... How I pray there could be closure for your precious father.
And I think about all the others... living in North Korea.
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