So, this Lunar New Year, Dad won't be coming home to celebrate and gather with me and our beloved family anymore. Time flies, and now it has been over 300 days. The pain in my heart still feels as fresh as yesterday, and I never stop missing you, Dad!
Oh, Dad! Since you left, the nCoV virus has caused Wuhan, in particular, and the world in general to enter a pandemic era. The death toll has exceeded 1.7 million people, with over 74 million confirmed cases, and the number of infections continues to rise. The economies of many countries have entered a severe recession.
Back then, when the virus first emerged, you noticed something unusual about some cases of pneumonia with unknown causes and warned everyone to take preventive measures. Yet, they unjustly accused you of fabricating information and spreading social unrest. Now, they have realized the truth! The alarming increase in infection cases has overwhelmed hospitals, and they have had to hastily build makeshift hospitals in many places. Face masks, disinfectants, protective gear, medication, ventilators... have become scarce and expensive. If they had cooperated with you from the beginning to understand the disease, it wouldn't have spread globally like it has now. If only they had... then you wouldn't have... I'm extremely angry at them because of their callous and irrational behavior, which allowed that cruel virus to take away my beloved Dad and millions of people around the world.
Do you know, Dad? Every Saturday evening, I still look out the door, waiting for you to come home. But all I hear are the sound of the wind, the sound of cars, and the buzzing of mosquitoes. Tears uncontrollably stream down my face. Who will play with me, lie beside me, and be the one to provide me with a pillow to hear stories, blah blah...? Who will take me to school, play football with me every Sunday afternoon? Who will give me medicine when I'm sick? Oh, Dad! Oh, Dad!
You always taught me to be strong in the face of life's hardships, to maintain resilience in the storms of life. You often said, "People are not born to vanish like nameless grains of sand. They are born to leave their mark on the earth, to leave their mark in the hearts of others." Perhaps you were right because what you did has left a mark in the hearts of millions of people. To them, you are a hero in the midst of a chaotic society plagued by a pandemic.
Dearest Dad! I have good news for you: Mom has given birth to a baby, a very lively and a spitting image of you. Especially those big, round eyes, those waving hands, that babbling mouth as if calling you back. It's truly wonderful, isn't it, Dad? So now, I have a little sibling, and when they grow up, I will tell them about you, about a hero amidst the coronavirus pandemic who resides in everyone's hearts. I will take care of Mom in your place, have funny conversations to make her laugh and live happily, just like you did!
At this moment, in the distant Paradise, is Dad feeling cold and lonely? I send you a thousand kisses to warm your heart even more! Although the COVID-19 pandemic took you away from me in the physical world, it can never take away the Dad in my heart. I promise you, Dad, that I will live well, live strong, just as you did.
Thank you, Dad, for everything you!