THE TWO MOST IMPORTANT THINGS by LMC RATED FRC

Tin-Tin's friend from her old village writes her a letter explaining how she and Kyrano demonstrated the two most important lessons in the Universe.

24-April-2030

Dearest Tin-Tin,

How are you, my friend? I know it has been ages since last you heard from me, but things have not been easy these past many years. It was only recently that my luck changed, and I now find myself in a position of much better repute than when last you and I spoke.

I had been so lonely without your company. When you and your kind father left our village, I was left alone. I understood your need to leave with haste, and have always appreciated the token you left for me. That one small gesture spoke wonders.

But perhaps I should fill you in on that which has transpired since your departure all those years ago.

As you know, when you and your father left, I was what you might call a girl for hire. We grew up together, you and I, but I did not have the love and support your father gave you so freely. You know of my childhood, of the abuse I suffered at the hands of both my father and my mother. Later, after Mother passed, the abuse only worsened, and I took to the streets on my own, surviving by selling my most sacred and only possession: myself. You were so kind to take me in for a few months until I was able to afford to build my own tiny hut. And only you and your father would help me build it. The elders scoffed at you, this I know.

You have no idea how your actions helped me, Tin-Tin. So many years later, what you did back then, how you stood by me and cared about me and were not ashamed to be seen with me...all of that came back to me again one thousand fold. I have only you and your father to thank for this.

For one month ago, a man came to my small hut. His name is Ghani. He asked me if I was the woman called Adelina. I nodded and asked if he wished to enter my humble abode. He was dressed handsomely; I could tell he was of wealthy stature.

Ghani told me of a man his father Ramli had once meant about a year before you and your father left our village. The man was none other than Meor Kyrano...your father. Your father told Ramli of a young woman in his village, of how his daughter Tin-Tin had befriended her, of how they had tried to help her, and how sad they were to have had to leave without saying goodbye. That woman was me.

Ramli was intrigued by the fact that someone of your father's stature would stoop so low as to befriend and assist a woman of ill repute. He questioned your father incessantly. At the end of that evening, Ramli, a man of little sympathy or empathy, decided to change his life. To change the way in which he utilized his wealth. He became a great philanthropist. He has helped more people within our country than I can even count.

Ramli passed away two months ago. As he lay dying in his bed, Ghani asked him what it was that had made him change from a ruthless businessman who loved only money and power and capitalism into the greatest benefactor Malaysia had ever known. He wished to know what event had transformed his father into the man he had become. And so Ramli told his son the story of Meor Kyrano, and of the woman of ill repute he and his daughter had befriended.

And now Ghani has sought me out. He wished to meet me for himself, to see whether or not I truly existed. And he wished to meet Meor and Tin-Tin Kyrano. I told him I did not know of your whereabouts, and truly, I did not. My only hope in reaching you was to send this letter in care of Jefferson Tracy. I was told your father has associations with him, although I do not know in what capacity. I pray these words reach you, for I have no other way to thank your father and you for what you have done for me.

For I am now Ghani's wife. He has forgiven all my past transgressions. He has made me legitimate and taken me to live on his family's estate in Kuala Lumpur. After only two weeks, he offered marriage. We were married one week later. He is wonderful, Tin-Tin. I love him more than I ever dreamed possible. And he treats me like a princess. The only time I was ever treated this well was at the hands of you and your father.

This has taught me an important lesson: everything you do matters. If not for you and your father's kindness, if not for your father's words to Ramli, many in our country would have perished of disease and hunger. And Ghani would never have known of me. What you did...what your father did...mattered more than you can ever know.

As for the simple gift you left on my doorstep...the beautiful yellow flower...do not be sad that you had to leave without saying goodbye. I understand. I understood then, when I came home and found it upon my stoop. I knew it was from you. And I knew what it meant. And do not think it was such a simple gift.

Your thoughtfulness...your kindness...your love...your generosity...it mattered, Tin-Tin. It mattered to me. That one small token of your affection left in your haste to depart our village told me all I ever needed to know about you, and about how deep and true our friendship was. I kept that flower. I pressed it in the book your father gave me. I have it still, only now it is framed behind glass and mounted on the wall near my bed. I told Ghani of its significance.

And that, I have discovered, is a second very important lesson: thoughts are things. Your thoughts, all poured into that tiny yellow flower, carried me through these many years like angel's wings, like a soft, warm blanket that covered me on cold, lonely nights. Like the arms of my very best friend enveloping me in a hug when I was at my lowest points.

Please tell your father how grateful I am for what you did and for your thoughts. I am in a better place because of these things. And with this letter to you come my positive thoughts. I am hoping you are well, you are happy, you are loved and you are fulfilled. For at last, I am.

Remember them, Tin-Tin, and remember them well. The two most important lessons in the universe:

-Thoughts are things.

-Everything you do matters.

Love, Adelina