Treilyn and Larynda,
I am sorry for how rushed this message is. I have somewhere I need to be very soon, and there is not as much time as I would like.
Do not worry too much about that though. Long before today, I wrote each of you a proper letter for your eighteenth birthday, just in case anything ever happened to me. In those letters I said all the things a father hopes to tell his children. The advice, the story of how I met your mother and all the things I wanted you to know about me. If you are reading this, then one day you will read those as well.
What I have left to say now is much simpler.
I am sorry.
I am sorry that I will not be there to watch you grow. I am sorry that I will not see the people you become. I will not see you become a man, Treilyn, or a woman, Larynda. I will not be there for your first loves, your greatest triumphs, your worst mistakes, or the day you build families of your own.
Your mother may think I was foolish for leaving. She may think I was selfish. Perhaps she is right. I would not blame her for being angry with me. I am sorry if my choice causes either of you pain; sometimes love can be painful.
But I need you to know why I went.
I went because there were people who wanted to take your future away. People who would have stolen your chance to grow up, to laugh, to love, and to live the long lives you deserved. I could not allow that. I could not stand aside and hope someone else would protect you.
I wanted you both to have the chance to become adults. To find people you love. To have children of your own one day, if that is what you choose. To feel the same overwhelming love for your family that I have always felt for mine.
By going away, I make sure your mother and our friends will be able to keep you both safe.
I never really knew my own father. He was taken from me when I was very young. I remember so little of him. Just fragments. Stories. Hints of the man he was.
For a long time, that left me angry and I wanted revenge on those I held responsible.
I carried that anger for years, and I think it is one of the reasons I made so many bad choices in my life. It took me far too long to understand that bitterness does not bring back those we've lost. It only hurts the people who remain. So I ask one thing of both of you.
Be a good boy, Treilyn.
Be a good girl, Larynda.
Look after one another. Be kind to your mother. She is stronger than either of you will realise for many years, but she can still be hurt. Also be kind to Auntie Jade, auntie Ilyn, and auntie Meimei. They are family too, and family matters more than almost anything else in this galaxy.
There will be days when life feels unfair. Days when things seem impossible. Days when you want to give up. When those days come, remember something your old father knew: The galaxy is full of adventure.
It is full of strange worlds, beautiful places, extraordinary people, and experiences beyond anything you can imagine. No matter how dark things become, there is always something waiting beyond the next horizon. There is always the promise of love and friendship, even in the most unlikely of places.
Go looking for it.
Be brave.
Be curious.
Laugh often.
Love deeply.
And never forget that from the moment I first held you both in my arms, you were the greatest thing I ever did.
No matter where I am, no matter what happens next, I love you.
Always,
Dad
I am sorry for how rushed this message is. I have somewhere I need to be very soon, and there is not as much time as I would like.
Do not worry too much about that though. Long before today, I wrote each of you a proper letter for your eighteenth birthday, just in case anything ever happened to me. In those letters I said all the things a father hopes to tell his children. The advice, the story of how I met your mother and all the things I wanted you to know about me. If you are reading this, then one day you will read those as well.
What I have left to say now is much simpler.
I am sorry.
I am sorry that I will not be there to watch you grow. I am sorry that I will not see the people you become. I will not see you become a man, Treilyn, or a woman, Larynda. I will not be there for your first loves, your greatest triumphs, your worst mistakes, or the day you build families of your own.
Your mother may think I was foolish for leaving. She may think I was selfish. Perhaps she is right. I would not blame her for being angry with me. I am sorry if my choice causes either of you pain; sometimes love can be painful.
But I need you to know why I went.
I went because there were people who wanted to take your future away. People who would have stolen your chance to grow up, to laugh, to love, and to live the long lives you deserved. I could not allow that. I could not stand aside and hope someone else would protect you.
I wanted you both to have the chance to become adults. To find people you love. To have children of your own one day, if that is what you choose. To feel the same overwhelming love for your family that I have always felt for mine.
By going away, I make sure your mother and our friends will be able to keep you both safe.
I never really knew my own father. He was taken from me when I was very young. I remember so little of him. Just fragments. Stories. Hints of the man he was.
For a long time, that left me angry and I wanted revenge on those I held responsible.
I carried that anger for years, and I think it is one of the reasons I made so many bad choices in my life. It took me far too long to understand that bitterness does not bring back those we've lost. It only hurts the people who remain. So I ask one thing of both of you.
Be a good boy, Treilyn.
Be a good girl, Larynda.
Look after one another. Be kind to your mother. She is stronger than either of you will realise for many years, but she can still be hurt. Also be kind to Auntie Jade, auntie Ilyn, and auntie Meimei. They are family too, and family matters more than almost anything else in this galaxy.
There will be days when life feels unfair. Days when things seem impossible. Days when you want to give up. When those days come, remember something your old father knew: The galaxy is full of adventure.
It is full of strange worlds, beautiful places, extraordinary people, and experiences beyond anything you can imagine. No matter how dark things become, there is always something waiting beyond the next horizon. There is always the promise of love and friendship, even in the most unlikely of places.
Go looking for it.
Be brave.
Be curious.
Laugh often.
Love deeply.
And never forget that from the moment I first held you both in my arms, you were the greatest thing I ever did.
No matter where I am, no matter what happens next, I love you.
Always,
Dad