Hearing your father say his goodbye speech to your uncle and hearing his voice slowly sink has to be the most painful thing. My father called my uncle up in Germany and read his funeral speech. It began like this:
'Brother dearest, there's not long left, tomorrow we will part far from each other but before we say our goodbyes, your brothers and sisters, your family, your grandchildren and relatives have come together to acknowledge your wonders and the marks that you have left in our hearts and lives...'
It was clearly so much more painful when I heard it in Vietnamese and for the first time in the past eighteen years of my life seen my father's heart ache like a war zone. Both my uncle and father cried to each other; two old brothers sharing their pain and only hearing one side of the conversation made my hands tremble as tears rolled down my cheeks.
Uncle dearest, you are an inspiration, a living role model of peace and I wish I could be just like you. So humble in action, and with each step you take you leave no scarring mark.Thank you for sharing pain and many great memories with us. Thank you for welcoming me into your family like your own grandchildren. May you rest in paradise and your legacy continue to pass on. I've never been good with goodbyes, so I'll see you soon.
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