OGENKI DESU KA?

I once asked a girl what was the most romantic thing that ever happened to her, and she replied that once a boy she was seeing spontaneously bought a rose for her as they walked down the sidewalk - even though it seems a cliche, that moment touched her heart.

And who is to say what funny little thing can touch our hearts?

Tonight I rewatched the movie "Love Letter", directed by Shunji Iwai, and was transported in time to one of my most romantic moments even as the film's power and grace brought tears to my eyes.

In 1998 I sat in a dark movie theater in Seoul, hunched down as far as possible in the plush seat with my ear millimeters away from soft lips that quietly translated that same movie for me line by line.

OGENKI DESU KA? WATASHI WA GENKI
How are you? I am fine!

She was my entrance to that world, but also tinged it with a little bit of who she was - in the words she chose and the pauses when a scene stole her from me for a brief second of time.

However, it seems that Iultimately missed much of the film's import. Ironically, it seems that the one part of the plot that went over my head was the love letters in the film - the small symbolic acts that showed someone's love more honestly than words could say, but ultimately proved inscrutable.

And believe me, each line translated softly into my ear, the warm breathe tickling the lobe, was a small love letter that burned the experience in my mind and lit a fire in my heart - setting another stone in a foundation that would not crack for many a year to come...

But you know - and forgive me for being so inscrutable, as I am certain few others have seen this masterpiece - in the film recognizing those love letters and their import is part of letting go of the loved one...

Moving on :)