Dear Mak and Pa,
Some debts can be repaid. Others can only be honored. What you have given me can only be honored, so this letter is a record, written down so it is never forgotten.
You opened your door before I knocked. You asked for no explanation and set no conditions. You simply made a place at your table and treated my presence as ordinary, which is the rarest form of welcome there is.
Then you did something I still cannot find adequate words for: you offered space in your home for my parents' altar. You made room not only for me, but for where I come from. In one gesture, you showed me I was not only marrying into a family. I was being folded into one, full of love and care.
I promise you this: the trust you have given will be kept. I will care for your daughter with everything I have, and I will show up for this family in lean seasons as well as good ones. When the incense burns for my parents under your roof, it will carry gratitude for you as well.
With respect and love,
Dara