Twelve Letters Episode 8

Birthdays

The episode starts with a chat about bday gifts. When Tang asks Xun when his bday is, he has no response. In his entire life he has never once celebrated his bday. She declared 9 Nov his bday and that they would be celebrated every year. His tearful face at having somebody love him and make a day for him. Their happiness turned into a nightmare. They are running and bloody and he has a knife. I am guessing they had their last fight with Bao et al. At least they are all alive. All three guys went to jail for various time lengths. Xun got 13 yrs for involuntary manslaughter. Since Cha said he owed him money, I am wondering if he took the worst crime to keep his friend out of trouble. When jailed he refused to see Tang. She reached a point where she wanted to end it all and walk into the sea, but as she was giving up, she heard Xun’s voice in her head telling her to live well. She got herself together, unburied her cookie tin with their keepsakes and went to college. She ran into Hao who gave her the memorial plot address for Xun. He was not really dead but he did not want to lessen her life with his past crimes. He did try to call her once but when he heard her son call her mom, he figured she was married and better off without him. Every year on 9 Nov she cleaned his memorial and left a bday cake and flowers. She did this for decades. The episode ends with them being old and she still delivers the cake. This year she just gave him the cake and said goodbye, she usually sat and chatted with him but this time it was just happy bday and leaving. He is there watching and as she leaves he still doesn’t say anything but cries bitterly. His life had changed significantly after prison. He promised he would visit his friend’s family because he would not live to see them. That sweet little girl kept asking him questions and he committed to be with them every day. He became the Gma’s son and became father to Nian. It was not the family he had planned, but it was the family that needed him. He looked after them well for as long as they were under his care.

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