The Letter of Courage

Sabrina Doan
4th period
The sky was dark as coal. Only the moon glowed a piece of light, however no
stars shined in the night sky. The house was silent. Suddenly a boom broke that
silence. Yung woke up with a start. The sound was coming from a knocking door.
She cautiously looked through the window to see who was pounding on her door.
Yung saw an unrecognizable figure. She left the window to jump back into bed.
My Yung. My Yung, I know youre in there, the man spoke.
Yungs heart stopped. That was the specific nickname her father gave her. Her
heart accelerated. Curiosity grabbed her mind. In almost slow motion, she opened
the creaking door. In the background owls were hooting, and crickets were
chirping. The light of the moon seeped into the house. The sky was still starless.
My Yung, he called, I have an extremely important letter for you from
your father.
He handed her a torn-up envelope and marched back to his dark car.
Wait, Yung shouted, How do you know my name? How do you know my
father?
He spun around and chuckled, I guess its too dark for you to recognize your
own brother.
Khoi? she whispered as she slowly began to run to him.
Hey look, he smiled, you even remembered my name.
Yung ran to his side and squeezed him hard.
Cant breath, he choked.
What are you doing here? she questioned him.
Delivering and discussing the letter, he stated

Where are you staying? Yung asked him.

Umm I was just going to stay at a hotel, he tore away.
What? Yung shouted, No brother of mine is staying at a hotel when I have
a perfect guest room in my house. Come on.
Are you sure this is fine with you, he looked uneasy.
Of course it is, she assured him.
The next morning Yungs son, Lance, woke up and began hearing sounds from
the guest room. Khoi was known to snore. He tiptoes to his mothers room to
report the sounds.
Mom, wake up. Theres someone in the guest room, he cried.
Its just uncle Khoi, she mumbled back.
Lance gasped, Uncle Khoi?
Yung immediately woke up realizing what she had said. Before she could stop
him, Lance bolted for the guest room like a cheetah.
Wake up! Wake up! he bounced up and down.
Okay I'm up Khoi rose from bed.
Come on lance or youll be late for school, Yung called.
Yung headed to the car once Lance was ready.
Lance waved at his mother, See you after school.
Yung headed back to the house. Her mind was spinning with a thousand
thoughts. She kept wondering what the contents of the letter were. Her communist
father must have something important in that letter if he sent Khoi to talk about it.
She drove to the house as fast as the law allows it. Slowly opening the door she
looked for any sight of Khoi. He was nowhere to be found. Yung quietly stepped
into the guest room to found her brother sound asleep.

Khoi, she shouted, Wake up. You have to tell me about the letter
Five more minutes, he grumbled.
Yung sighed. There was no way of getting her brother out of bed. She decided to
open the letter.
Get your mother and sisters out of Vietnam. I cant explain right now, but all I
can say is bomb
Her heart stopped. The urgency was in the letter that she was holding. She
stepped into the guest room to wake Khoi up. Fortunately, throwing a freezing cold
glass of water worked.
Khoi, look at this letter father sent, she wailed
I know. I just dont know how to do so, he sounded disappointed.
You knew this and you were sleeping the whole time. she sigh. Wait, I got
it, she screeched. My husband, John, is going to Vietnam soon to help refugees.
He can pick up my mother as well, she joyfully explained.
You know, that might actually work, he shouted.
Yung grabbed the phone and dialed the numbers quick as lightning. The
ringing was making her patience go out.
Hello? a familiar voice sounded.
John you have to listen to me. You have to go to Sai Gon and fly my mother
and sisters back here. The communists are going to bomb them. I dont know
when. Can you please do it as soon as possible? her voice was desperate.
Ill try my best, he reassured him.
The conversation was over. Yung jumped up and down like a little happy child.
Her mother and sisters were going to hop on a plane to the U.S. then the thought
struck her When? Well it doesnt matter. As long as her family was safe and
sound, she was fine with that. A few weeks later, horrible news struck. Sai Gon had

been bombed. Yung was worried for her mothers safety. She wondered if her
family was safe. Then, the answer came to her. In the afternoon, Yung drove to
pick up Lance. Her heart was beating so fast it could burst.
Mom, where are we going, Lance asked.
Youll see, she smiled.
They arrived at the airport. Joy and hope was filling Yung.
Daddy? Grandma? Auntie? Lance smiled.