Dear Juniper,

I got your letter, but your father doesn't know, so please keep this between you and me, okay? I'm still very upset with you, but that doesn't mean that I don't miss you every day you're not speaking to us. I love you so much, Juniper, and I really did want to come to your wedding, but your father wouldn't have it. There was a reason why I never wanted you to marry someone outside of our race, so I'm going to tell you something I've never told anyone before, including your father.

When I was in the eighth grade, it came out that my father had an affair with a White woman named Gale for the past 3 years. When my parents divorced, your grandfather eloped with Gale and never came back. Your grandmother conjured up a story about him committing suicide to save face for the family and hide her shame. I guess in an effort to get him back, Mom married a man of the same race as Gale named Howard. She believed he was the best man she's ever been with, but your aunt and I knew different. He molested us whenever Mom went out and threatened to kill us if we told anybody. Finally, during my freshman year, I couldn't take it anymore, so I ran away and never returned. I felt ashamed for leaving my then 10-year-old sister behind to face the thinly masked satyriasis that Howard possessed, but I had to do whatever I could to escape. She has forgiven me, but I still felt ashamed that it was 2 long, suffering years before Howard was finally incarcerated.

Then I met a Korean man named Inati, a well-respected street hustler. I thought he was the most beautiful man in the world. His hair was blonde, he had a beautiful smile, and he was the only Asian man I've ever seen who could make wearing glasses look y. He found me at a bus stop and promised to give me everything I wanted if I came to live with him. One night, he bought me a really expensive pair of shoes from Daniel, who was a childhood friend of his. Inati's "business" had been really slow during that time, so his friend asked for me to sleep with him as payment.

"Don't worry," Inati reassured me. "It's only Daniel. You want those shoes, don't you, Dahlia?"

The shoes were beautiful, but I felt dirty every time I put them on because they reminded me of what I had to do for them. That day marked the beginning of a what seemed to be a never-ending cycle of mind-numbing drugs, coerced ion, and domestic violence. Inati had me selling my body for him every night, and he beat me for every time he felt I didn't make enough money. Juniper, it took me 5 years to get away from him, and I burned the shoes he gave me without regrets. Those were five years I have lost of my life to Inati. I could never get them back,  which made me become bitter with men of the white and Asian races ever since. I escaped one hellhole at home just to be introduced into another one on the streets. That's why I wanted you to follow my suit because I didn't want you to have that kind of pain placed on you, but I now see that I was the one who's been suffering all these years.

I"m sure Jiro is treating you well, but my closed mind has blinded me from seeing that. After what happened to me, I didn't think that any Asian man could treat you the same way your father has treated me. I hope you can understand my pain and forgive me, and tell Jiro I'm sincerely sorry for letting a poisonous relationship with a gangster affect how I felt about him. Please bring my grandchildren by our house someday. I want to see how much they've grown. Children can be so cruel, but I guess I can't really judge them about that because I'm pretty much the same way. I'm so glad that you have a family of your own. I love you so much, Juniper.

Love,

Your Mother

P.S. Don't worry. I'll talk to your father for you. He listens to me.

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Thank you so much for reading this. I put a lot of effort into this story. I hope you like it. I decided to wait to write Dark in Lovely; it needs some more work.

Thanks so much, guys!