Isabella (Chung Hoon)

I was on an aircraft carrier in the South China Sea when the video came in: you, your older sister, your best friend and your husband. You had a wedding ring on and a newborn baby in your arms. 

You seemed happy, radiant even. 

I had never desired children for myself, nor had I ever harbored any sentiment or longing for another person's child, but in that moment, awash in the infinite brilliance of the ocean as it slowly but steadily washed across the deck and over my feet, I caught myself thinking, "Damn, that could have been me, my wife and my child." 

In the end we tend to think of how it began, and of all the opportunities forfeited along the way. 

- June 24, 2021