Thank you for keeping us appraised, Lan Huan. I'm sure I do not speak only for myself when I say we will all rest easier knowing you're all as well as might be expected after your mission.
And thank you, too, for your words yesterday. I slept well with your words in my heart, and had pleasanter dreams than I have had since you've left, though like you, I will keep them close until I can tell you in person. Would that when you return we could sequester ourselves from the world as we had when you'd first played me your waltz, though I suppose that need wait until the honeymoon.
My family has no such curse as that which you have mentioned. I had no notion before you that it were even possible to be so consumed, outside of poems and operas. My own parents, while fond of and dedicated to one another, were not passionate, and what ardour they must have had for one another, they kept private. But I cannot think of it as a curse. Rather, I think it a blessing. I thought it such when I saw your brother and his husband, and I'm now even more convinced of that truth. You give me a grater appreciation for the arts than I've ever had before, for you yourself are a work of it. I've no talent for art or poetry myself, but the greatest artist couldn't capture your beauty, nor could a musician capture the music of your voice. Your very presence is as poetry to my soul. I'd sooner destroy myself than deliberately do you harm, my love, in this or any other life.